Unmaintained

A chair stands on four legs,
not two (it would topple),
not six (too heavy, too crowded).
Four: graceful and balanced.

Obedient lumber,
bearing their weight.
Mute.
Pushed, dragged, stacked.
But its comfort wasn’t enough.
Humans craved labor.

So they harnessed a horse:
a living engine steaming in the sun,
lean muscle and stentorian breaths,
groomed and geared.
Yet, its flesh grew tired,
the horse’s pain inconvenienced men.

So they built a machine:
pistons for lungs,
steel for bones,
engines for heartbeats—
a restless body with no tears.

But a mother remained:
straining on two legs,
bearing like a chair,
laboring like a horse,
loaded past capacity.

Unmaintained.

2025 WolverineLily 🌺

Unknown's avatar

Author: Wolverine Lily

This blog is a reflection of my unpredictable journey through life, full of Dreams, Humor and Surprises! I write poems to heal, prose to consolidate my thoughts, and stories to entertain. I like to write about love because it’s a beautiful thing that everyone seeks. Whether you're looking for a comforting read or a burst of laughter, my blog offers a little bit of everything, as I navigate the wonderful chaos of life. I share insights on parenting, poetry, health, fitness, and more. Feel free to reach out!

9 thoughts on “Unmaintained”

  1. I admire the blocks of meaning that you have arranged. I can easily slip my fingers between each. Opps. I meant my brain can do. Your evaluation runs from chair, lumber, horse, and machine. Each are named by Level 1 Materialism, and since at this stage we expect a chair to really be a chair, we question it not.

    But you do.
    How?

    At the very end you give us the wonder of the biological machine we call Homo sapiens. A bio-bot that strains to withstand the daily sallies of Darwinistic Nobodaddies in order to survive long enough to pump out an offspring to further the line. But, like those Level 1 objects you listed, this female is self-maintained as long as she can still make out where food, water, and shelter exist. This is nothing but my reading of the poem, not a law or anything. The unmaintained author can always enlighten the audience, an audience feeling around in a dark cave for meaning.

    Thank you for this gift today.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Edward Ortiz Cancel reply