Muskoka Chair
Aug 9 2016



Adirondack
                        ...Laurentian
                                                     ...Cape Cod.

But I know them as Muskoka chairs.


Because they are everywhere,
but jealously claimed
by each proud enclave of summer
 -- watershed, seashore, lake-front
cottage, camp, chalet.


They are set at the end of a dock
or on a large covered veranda,
wooden-slatted, high-backed
angling nicely away.


They invite you in,
with ample arms
contoured bottoms
slightly curved splats,
softly encircling your body
like a comfortable embrace.


Unoccupied,
they are turned toward each other
like life-long friends
amiably shooting the breeze.
And like stoic old mariners
are contemptuous of weather
but show the patina of age;
seasoned wood
bleached and peeling paint.


Even empty
they give the place that lived-in look.
And, like family, welcome you home,
proclaiming summer
simply by being there,
a constant presence
waiting to take you in.


Take a load off, crack a beer
the chair seems to graciously say.
Recline your body, rest your head
there’s no rush here.