CHATTELS
the furniture
has it all worked out
it can just
stand around, being decorative or useful (or both)
taking no responsibility
beyond its function
I reach for a shirt
and the wardrobe can have a twenty-four hour break
I sit down upon a chair
and the springs (with a sigh) take my weight
but over the years
from house to house (the removal van receding)
I find they gather
like devotees and whisper, with the unexpected gift of speech
like butlers
that have witnessed my affairs, the intimate moments
of love
birth and death, a discreet cough or a creaking stair
a reminder
of their enduring presence
I breathe
the ghosting air of acquiescence
as without a word
the door shuts and the drapes swag the living-room to darkness
.
Gareth Writer-Davies was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize and the Erbacce Prize (2014), Commended in the Prole Laureate Competition and the Welsh Poetry Competition (2015). He is the Prole Laureate for 2017 and Highly Commended in the Welsh Poetry Competition.
His pamphlet “Bodies”, was published in 2015 by Indigo Dreams and his next pamphlet “Cry Baby” will come out in 2017.
Abegail Morley 