Choses Vieux
The gentle swell of an ancient carved table leg
The burnished glow of antique varnish
The sheen of satiny, marbled surfaces
Scored with fine dents, a nick here, a notch
There, a clumsy but lovingly repaired abutments there,
Each its own story. These old things—ces choses vieux—
Are like old friends, familiar, worn, beautiful. Outside
The cold, digital tempest rages on, a blizzard of zeroes
And ones. Inside we take the time to look, to feel,
Delicate in our warmth and safety, for now.
—Michael Lindgren
