the tenement museum, by j. lewis

A Lone Green Chair...photography by Christian Holmér (Sweden). Contemporary. Click image for artist site. (CC).

the tenement museum
after a photo by Simon Watson
 
this is it then, the single photo
that describes my private heart
a lone chair for a solitary man
bare wooden floor, well worn
a mirror, dark with sorrow
that cannot, will not show my face
whatever reflections may be had
must be pulled from somewhere else
 
fireplace, half seen, but full cold
no passion there for so long
no one even bothers to lay a log
not even at yuletide
 
paint and plaster left untouched,
unattended, are leaving
not in leaps and bounds, no
but in daily dissolutions
fueling the dust that settles
everywhere, everywhere
 
daylight, yes, but muted
as though the sun is unwilling
to put too much effort here
or maybe unable to penetrate
the grayness of late life
 
even the blue trim has faded
testament to fleeting joys
finite moments of pleasure
of peace, of contentment
 
and almost as an afterthought
a single candle stands
half-used, half waiting,
ready at the smallest spark
to flare into active hope
ready to say "i am not done"
to say "i am not gone"
 
j.lewis

The image shown to illustrate this work is an amazing photo by Christian Holmér (Sweden) but it is not the image that inspired the poem. We were not able to get permission for the photograph by Simon Watson (USA) that prompted lewis's poem, but invite you to see it by clicking here. It is the second photo from the left in the top row.

j.lewis is an internationally published poet, musician, and nurse practitioner. His poems have appeared online and in print in numerous journals from California to Nigeria to the UK. His first collection of poetry and photography was published in June 2016, and is available on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/clear-day-october-j-lewis/dp/168073055X). A chapbook "every evening is december" was published by Praxis Magazine (http://www.praxismagonline.com/every-evening-december-j-lewis/) in February 2018.