Found In Volume “P” [FICTOID]

There weren’t many encyclopedias left in Seville.  Truth be told, there weren’t many encyclopedias left anywhere thanks to the Internet, which was precisely the reason Carlos Batista wanted to write a poem about every one of them surviving in the city.

He had been a poet in his youth, and many a now happily married matron kept a love poem he’d written just for her locked up in her box of secret personal treasures.

But those days lay decades in the past.  Now he served as viceroy to his majesty, King Felipe IV of Spain.

It was in many ways a good job, an excellent job, with power and perks and privilege…

...but no poetry.

Carlos Batista left poetry far behind.  Now he worked for King Felipe and by extension, for every citizen of Spain.

He grew up loving poetry thanks to an ancient encyclopedia in the art deco style his grandmother bequeathed to his father.

As a boy he would pore over the pages devouring the sumptuous illustrations (not literally, with his eyes; it’s a metaphor, jack, to keep in the theme of the story).

The artwork spurred his creative soul, channeling itself into poetry.

His poetry is what caught King Felipe’s attention.

Knowing he couldn’t make a living as a poet (only Charles Bukowski and Dr. Seuss could do that), Carlos Batista studied political science in school.  This put him on a governmental fast track and almost before he knew it, he rose to the position of viceroy.

Running the country (not ruining it, contrary to what his political adversaries claimed) took all his time.

And while he loved his work and enjoyed helping the people of Spain, he also missed the heady days of his youth, when every page of the old family encyclopedia would inspire a new burst of poetry.

His father threw the encyclopedia away once he went to the university, thinking he’d never need it again.

That broke Carlos Batista’s heart.

While her served capably, competently, and compassionately as viceroy, he  issed the poetry.

On tiresome days he would fantasize about reclaiming his lost you and vigor by writing a poem about every encyclopedia remaining in Seville…

…but that came to naught.

Instead, he spent his days writing cattle regulations for Catalan.

© Buzz Dixon