Vocation of the Chair

Vocation of the Chair

It longs to be the one

who holds you, keeps you

from falling, its curved legs

shapely as a bride.

The chair that would be saint.

martyr, acolyte. Your little

sins of omission and false pride

cannot sway it — the chair believes

in you. It grows taller in the dark.

Soon it will fill the room,

its cushion of praise all you need

in the crude and faithless light.

Laurel Ann Bogen is the author of 10 books of poetry and short fiction. In 2016, Red Hen Press will publish All of the Above: New and Selected Poems 1975-2015. From 1996 until 2002 she was literary curator at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. She is an award-winning instructor of poetry and performance for the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and is well-known for her lively readings and her work as a founding member of the acclaimed poetry performance troupe, Nearly Fatal Women. Her work has appeared in more than 100 literary magazines and anthologies.