Angelic Dialect

the history students

hanging photos of ancient monuments on your walls

memorizing dates, creating a timeline in your mind’s eye

slow violin music

browsing wikipedia late at night

learning the constellations and wondering how many people have looked at them before you

crumbling buildings and faded paper

adding detail in the margins of your textbooks for the stuff they left out

soft sweaters and messy hair

pages of notes, written and underlined and studied again and again

watching documentaries for fun

analyzing primary sources, picking apart biases from fact

a cup of herbal tea on the desk, keeping you grounded

a hunger to understand all that has gone before you

sunsets that turn the sky the golden color of aged parchment

collecting biographies of your favorite historical figures, piling them on your shelf

treasured family heirlooms

notes written in fountain pen, hands stained with ink

visiting the same museum exhibits over and over, knowing there’s always more to learn

studying by candlelight

thick textbooks spread out across your desk