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.

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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.