Meuble.immeuble

Abu Ghraib Coffee Table by Philip Toledano

Meuble. immeuble

You love me
care for me
like a piece of furniture
polished and ready to display for company
should there ever actually be any

Just the right addition
to your impeccable condo and collections
I have a few nicks that can be hidden
a few smudges that are glossed over
and invisible in the precision of track lighting
I was a bargain
my flaws a fair trade-off
for the void I filled in your master floor plan

You would never abuse my silky finish
or leave me messy, dusty, and dented
in fact
you are most happy to keep a great distance
walking around me in wide angles
throwing over occasional glances of pride
the living room showpiece
the good deal you had been waiting for

It’s not a bad life
for an inanimate object
to be neglected out of love

But being a breathing, heaving, needing creature
of desire and depth and opinion and form
I fear exposure to that kind of affection
will turn me into your coffee table
wooden, hard, hushed
contented with the loving caress of a dry cloth
admired and looked at, but never really seen

It’s not a bad death
for an animate object
to be neglected out of love

©Jenn Carson 2012

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