Table Nine

Monologue

Freshly sawed, separated from other stacks of lumber,

Polished and sent off.

I was built from strong ancestry 

The craftsmanship invested in me was legendary.

I was crafted to beautify and serve…

And serve I did…with verve

…for nine years!

Positioned beside French windows overlooking  sun kissed blue beaches, an awesome skyline and majestic date trees.

In a prestigious and luxurious hotel…

I was courted by the best, the rich, the famous, the classy, and the powerful.

The rendezvous was captained by me.

I had the greatest spot in the house!

My ears have tingled from hysterically funny and drought-dry jokes over years.

Here’s a poke!

Please don’t choke!

Murder!!!

Did you shudder???

Yep! I have heard civilized looking people plotting murder over caviar and white wine.

Don’t cry!

I have heard, tasted and seen it all…

Husbands treating their mistresses to five course meals,

Sipping champagne and campaigning with whispering flirtations of persuasions.

Some days I felt like mopping the floor with their lying tongues

…but what could a table do???

I have stared at desperate anorectic looking wives 

Fiddling with table knives

Afraid to eat one more bite.

I stood by in fright!

Flight or hide?

Could a table hide?

Just standing there caused a ripple of irritated helpless stirs in me!!!

I had to stay in character!

That was my lot!

My soul was assaulted daily by the complexities of human existence!!!

I understand that there are no by standers in a war…you either participate or flee!

But where could a table go???

So I participated…unwillingly.

Am I blabbing???

You must forgive my lopsided narrative,

Life did provide some palliatives.

An occasional promotion celebration, wedding receptions, family celebrations, graduations, happy couples cuddling and celebrating the pricelessness of love, excited groups of friends, extravagant engagement parties, husbands enamored with their wives…

I could go on and on!

On these days, the excitement gets intoxicating!

Happy banter leaps and swirls around me!

Erasing negatives,

Showcasing positives.

I can’t predict what life could have been, if I had remained in the furniture shed with the hammers, screwdrivers, saws, and nails.

…here’s the thing,

I am sure I have lived a more interesting life than most humans have.

I fulfilled my purpose.

…getting old was just an inevitable inconvenience.

Author's Note

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Reviews

[Ken e Bujold]

Now this is a fabulously rich poem. Tour de force. Magically constructed. Almost to the very end before the thought entered my head, this narrator is most likely a table.
Which then reinforced my joy over the line "I was built from strong ancestry"
In every poem I read, I hope to find one great line. Sadly not often so, but this poem provided it and many others. Superb.

* one small editor's note" you should really consider hyphenating drought-dry jokes. The image I believe you are after is one of resistance to boredom, which would make drought-dry a compound.

definitely be back to read more of your work

Ken e

[Titilayo Sarah Eguridu]

Thank you so much for the kind words.
I am glad you enjoyed reading it.
I will hyphenate the drought dry jokes as you brilliantly suggested.
That’s the essence of a review.
I appreciate your kindness Ken