Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Ode to a Velveteen Chair



Poor Chair.
I pushed you to the fringe
Of our apartment in an attempt
To avoid your ugly mustard shade.
You- my sweet wife’s bastard child
Fathered by an unknown upholsterer-
I despised and expelled from the den.
Placing you in the cold and quiet sunroom,
I moved you as far away
From my favorite bookcase as possible.
In this quiet sanctuary you stood
alone and with no one to talk to
Save the elitist stationary bike who
Criticized your slouching stature.

I remember Thomas the Hobo slouching
at the corner of Burgandy and Touro
near Washington Square.
I stopped to have a cigarette
With Maggie the accordion player
And observed his lonely quarters in
The alley. He slept in a corner
By the dumpster on aged carpet
And a Van Gogh window pinned
To the wall showed a beautiful night never to be.
A small patch of
Sunlight poured through slits of
a condemned roof.
In his sanctuary, Thomas rested.
Maggie never understood the merits of visual art.

Days soon became weeks but no comfort
Came to you besides the occasional visit  
Of the missus.
She with her earl gray spent
Hours in your weakened arms
Flipping through Matisse and
Laying foundations for the future.
I cursed you for this and
Left my comfortable position at the
Desk to join my wife with you
In the bright but chilled space.


Sometimes the rain plays a game
With each brainwave it interrupts.
I found myself unable to sleep
And driving to the store for
Milk and bread. I stopped
And had a drink on the way
Home but lay awake
Like Caligari’s monster.
The rain pitter pattered and
I considered each aspect
Of my life in hopes that boredom
Would send gentle pleas to the Sandman.
Stumbling to the kitchen, I
Poured a tall glass of water and
Selected a book from my favorite
Bookcase and followed each line
In search of rest.
Slowly, crawling up the armrest
To the top of your faded head, a sweet
Silence over took my mind.
A vibrating purr softened the twisted alloys
Of my attentions and my thoughts
Quietly lay down in their beds.

Thank you for that.

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