​The Seat of Improbable Contemplations, by Melissa Coffey

Seat of Improbable Contemplations, photo by Melissa Coffey (Australia) 2020

​The Seat of Improbable Contemplations

Frame unsteady, back broken,
better days I've seen,
the epitome of elegance,
once resplendent
in scarlet velvet; now
threadbare and moulded;
a welcoming seat
of respite, no longer
for the weary, nor a place
of rumination, sipping tea,
sitting quiet, in a room
in a house by the sea

I rue the day a child mistook me
for a ladder, to climb for candy in a jar,
on the topmost pantry shelf, small feet first
upon my seat, then unsteadily upon my back,
his weight, too much to bear;
came a creaking, then a cracking,
down fell child and I, 
in pieces broken on the floor
 
Unforgiven, I sat, vertebrae unmended
in my lap, a symbol of their irreparable grief
in a lonely corner of a locked room;
the dust of creeping, careless years, falling
upon my shrouded frame, until
one night, the broken family, hastily,
abandoned their seaside home
leaving the murderer behind
 
Dilapidated, antiquated
stain worn, fabric torn; in time
it came to pass, instead of carpet
beneath my feet, now grows grass
wearied to the splinter, no more am I asked
to take the weight of anyone's respite,
nor be their site of rumination,
no longer do I stare at walls

My legs of wood, remembering
they once were trees,
will again, take root,
reaching down into earth,
soft moss, stealing over velvet frayed,
small flowers, sheltering in my shadow;
my back, grown supple as saplings, mended
over the wax and wane of seasons
beneath a mercurial sky; I've become
a seat of improbable contemplations, dreaming
on the silent street of memory,
leading forever down to the sea

Melissa Coffey

This poem was first published at Medium.

Melissa Coffey is a writer and poet based in Melbourne, Australia. Her work often explores themes of desire, power, transformation & sexuality, sometimes via a feminist lens. She was once an artist’s model, where she fell in love with art.  Melissa’s short stories, poetry and creative nonfiction are published (sometimes incognito) in various international and Australian anthologies (The Mammoth Book series, Stringybark Stories), literary journals (Not Very Quiet, Illura Press) and online. She co-edits Scrittura, a poetry publication on Medium.com. Melissa has recently sent her first poetry chapbook into the world. More are planned.