Standing in Silence
Old faithfuls
You never leave
Always present and receiving
Your Spirit
Forever tall and proud
Offering comfort
Your strength undeniable
Bones brittle and bent
Supported immense weights you have
Night and day
The winds of ice
Pass through your soul
The sun and rain
Harsh and unforgiving
Penetrating with viciousness
What golden tales you tell
Of Life resting awhile
Upon your frame
Your body has witnessed
The richness of Life
The darkness of solitude
Of every description you are
Dumped. Rusted. Upright
Bolted and chained
Your seat torn and weathered
You cling to the thread that is Life
Desperate to serve
Seemingly discarded
Irony surrounds
For you are treasured
They will not let you go
Release you of your ongoing workload
Beholden unto them
Protect your dignity they should
Carve beauty from your brittle bones
Oiled and nurtured
Creations of value and heritage
Appreciation of service
A source of gratitude
Perhaps they will
Power in holding on
Fear of letting go
Chairs of Beijing
You firmly hold the power
Offering comfort and support
Within your presence generations born
Matured and evolved
Your eyes witness to all
Upon you children climbed
The old sat gingerly
Weary souls rested
Plans of life made upon your seat
How many lovers met?
Sharing laughter and many tears
You hold the key
To interwoven moments and years
Treasured memories deeply embedded within you
A deep weariness engulfs your being
As you continue to serve and support
To witness Life in the alleyways of old China
The Old Chairs of Old Beijing - Fascinating.
ReplyDeleteSimply beautiful and so deeply meaningful!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Beijing, one of my mom's favourite things to do was to walk around the ancient hutongs taking photos of old chairs that had been discarded, or were perhaps still serving some meaningless purpose. Most people would just walk right by them. I love that my mom would not walk past. She'd see the unique character in each chair and ask questions like "I wonder how on earth this one got here?" or "I wonder why this one had to be chained up in the middle of the road?" or "Imagine how many people have sat on this chair, and what did those people witness?" Then she'd honour the life of each chair by taking its photo. I really miss walking through the hutongs. Even after 17 years of doing it, it never got boring. So many stories. So many treasures hidden there. But you needed the RIGHT EYES to appreciate it all, and I thank my mom for giving me those eyes. For the lesson of SEEING the world with curiosity and fascination. For seeing life as art. Here is her blog post - it's an ode to the chairs of the Beijing hutongs. Beautiful words and incredible photos!
ReplyDelete