My Desk

I give you my desk,
the white painted maple,
stately, with clean straight lines,
and three drawers on each side,
the one my father gave to me.

He carved his initials in the corner, he said, your great grandfather,
his father, punished him because of it.
He made him fill in the grooves with wood putty and refinish the whole piece.
When he was done, he said that it looked good,
and that it was a good desk.
He used it right through college.

Later, I asked him to refinish it again,
to paint it white to match the 1970s girls bedrooms furniture
in the catalogs from Sears.
So I could put it in my room.

Reluctantly he changed it. 
He sanded down the finish............

To Hear The Rest, Come To The Cottage Retreat Center