Bench I

Sit on me and look,

Please look,

And look hard,

For one day your eyes will no longer see,

For the days of dancing on me are over,

The music is gone,

The lights are now bright,

The summer air is whispering outside.

Yet I still hold memories of days long past and of those now laying still,

Yet, I am still here.

Allow for a moment,

Maybe two,

Drown yourself in paint,

See the colours,

And be still,

For you have the right to move,

And I am asking you to stay.

Stay with me a while.

Allow for more memories to be built upon my grain.

For I was alive,

I thrived and grew,

I nurtured and died,

The memories are held underneath you,

For I have witnessed countless dances, falls, tears, first kisses, births and seasons,

For I have had more than one life,

For now, we intertwine,

And for a moment I am conscious.

I have a new life,

My purpose to allow you to gaze upon the hands that built me,

For now, we are one,

I shall serve you now and in my next life,

For I do not have one purpose nor choice,

For I may burn tomorrow and transform these moments into embers,

For I am the wood,

And I am asking you to use eyes I cannot to stay and be still with me,

Just for a moment.

For long ago the birds used to sing on my arms.