I know I would not want to live <br />If poetry and music died, <br />Though now I feel it's safe to say <br />That words in music will abide. <br /> <br />If Sappho still is selling books <br />From her damp tomb, these many years <br />There still is hope for lesser men; <br />Their words will safeguard love and tears. <br /> <br />Someday our books will turn to ash <br />As steamy landscapes scorch their ink; <br />But still the kernel will not die <br />So long as thinking creatures think.<br /><br />Patti Masterman<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/if-poetry-and-music-died/
