going home

3000 pages, bound in gold
Will never let the chill take hold
On winter evenings hearths reflect
The dying embers retrospect

This chair once new, now sadly worn
Arms all tattered, cushions shorn
Of velvet knap with bright design
Ancient limbs that don’t align

A cat upon the mantle piece
Waits for the score of times release
Watching through the haze of smoke
As timeless picture views evoke

Her masters eyes though doomed to fade
It seems he can’t the years evade
Yet his face remains serene
Reading comments on each scene

Once in life he touched the sky
And rode on wings to vistas high
Stepped with abandon selfless bliss
Off the vaulted precipice

Creases now his face with smile
At her beauty all the while
With careful fingers turns each page
Fragile now with yellowed age

Marvels still now that he knew
Each sunlit pose with savored hue
Each word she spoke so neatly numbered
Remains recorded unencumbered

Grizzled hands caress the binding
Eternity slowly unwinding
With parting lips and closing eye
He gently whispers his goodbye