THIS OLD CHAIR OF MINE

A Poem by Laurence David Sterling III

How many times do you glue a heirloom back together
before it becomes a worthless piece of junk?
Is it better to let it go and have the memory of what was
or the unattractive reality of what it has become?
These are the questions I asked myself
as I glued the comfortable old chair together again
for the hundredth time.
It has lost its beauty,
lost its functionality,
and lost its reason for being.
No more can we sit in it,
less it falls apart and hurts someone.
It has become so unsightly from all the repairs and quick fixes,
that it no longer sits in full view of respectable callers.
It has become, in fact, a burden.
I have kept it because it was once something of beauty,
that I hoped would become beautiful again.
Why can't I see
it will never be
anything but blemished to me
until I set it free
from reality
and let it live in memory
of its former grace and beauty
silly me
pity me

We Approach Your Throne, Lord by Michael Lehr