My American Chair by Elizabeth Smither

Author:Elizabeth Smither
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Auckland University Press
Published: 2022-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

My American chair

Two clerks sat facing half my desk

(someone sliced through it and sold it twice)

an heirloom from another century

that found two clerks with lowered heads

over an expanse of wood and leather

and for both clerks this splendid American chair.

I forgot it was designed for someone with legs

like Honest Abe when he lifted his pen

to write a declaration or sign a law

his back didn’t ache as he bent forwards

he sent its wondrous curled spring whirling

when a slave was freed, a plantation owner

converted from such prissy genteel manners

that made women dolls, secretly imbibing,

but my legs are shorter, my back sore

after years of balancing on its rim

my arms out of position on the desk

too high for comfort but still

how I loved my American chair

and how sadly we parted

I gave it to my gardener

who carried it like a giant crab

against his chest and suggested

(since I write), I sign it.

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