Rock On!

By John I. Blair

I could proffer it as a modest piece
Of Craftsman, Mission, early Deco;
But it's circa 1900 Boarding House,
Solid oak in heavy hunks
With rakish back, awkward corners
And a ghost of rococo around the arms.

Ransomed from Sinbad's Treasure Cave
Forty years ago, it cost ten dollars cheap.
We tossed the filthy cushions out the window;
Then, with the loving care
Newlyweds devote to firstborn furniture,
We covered it with chintz and brassy tacks.

This is the chair we nursed our baby in
When he was hungry, the rocker
Where I crooned him off to dreamland
Night after cranky night,
Where I calmed myself to fitful sleep
When my wife was sick.

A recent price-no-object restoration
Plus kingly jacquard tapestry upholstery
And you'd never ken its checkered history;
Because old friends like this,
Even if they're cracked and creak,
Deserve the best retirement we can offer.

©2004 John I. Blair