Chair Variations

I surrendered my severed limbs
to the mercy of nails
to become whole again.

*

I have offered my flat surface
for comfort.

I serve many, indefinitely.
I never learned
to count the hours.

*

Sensing your restlessness,
my sturdy form keeps you still.

*

My back remains unmoved by your back.
I knew you'd lean, eventually.

*

I am behind and beneath you.

*

Despite the common intimacies,
Solitude is my loyal companion.

*

A touch is always foreign;
one person's grasp
is unlike another's.

*

One day you will not resist
the urge to carve words on my skin.

*

My skin is my memory:
I keep the marks you leave,
the deep and undecipherable
as well as the names
you carve yet forget.

*

Everyone is fleeting.

I remain unmoved
and never used to it.

*

I am grateful you keep me occupied
however momentary. I accept
this is my purpose.

*

I recognize the warmth
of your body at rest.

I keep this for as long as I can.