Keys and Locks
I have no more keys.
A startling admission for an adult woman. My life should be full of privileges and secrets.
Keys are the power to access a place or thing that is restricted. Locks are designed to keep somebody out, and keys are permission to cross that proscription. We choose what information we let into our brains, what people we let into our hearts, and who knows our own information. We need a key to move about in a car, to earn money in secure buildings or offices, to access computer hardware and software.
I feel like all of my special permissions have been revoked and I've been set back to "default" status.
Books and keys are a fascinating combination. Because of literary and critical theories, there are maybe twenty different keys to every text, but instead of allowing any person with any of the keys to access the text, the book is more like the door than the room behind it. Anybody can open the door and get to the world of the text, but if you have a key, you can use the exact same door, like magic, to get somewhere completely different.
And this is why I am talking about this: because nobody can revoke these keys. As long as I keep using them, as long as I keep reading, I have access to all of these rooms and nobody can revoke them. Not ever. Even with all of my books in storage and forgetting me, these words are my home, my car, my office, my planet and constellations.
As Gonzo sang, "you can just visit, but I plan to stay."
A startling admission for an adult woman. My life should be full of privileges and secrets.
Keys are the power to access a place or thing that is restricted. Locks are designed to keep somebody out, and keys are permission to cross that proscription. We choose what information we let into our brains, what people we let into our hearts, and who knows our own information. We need a key to move about in a car, to earn money in secure buildings or offices, to access computer hardware and software.
I feel like all of my special permissions have been revoked and I've been set back to "default" status.
And this is why I am talking about this: because nobody can revoke these keys. As long as I keep using them, as long as I keep reading, I have access to all of these rooms and nobody can revoke them. Not ever. Even with all of my books in storage and forgetting me, these words are my home, my car, my office, my planet and constellations.
As Gonzo sang, "you can just visit, but I plan to stay."
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