The Pew Kept Open
Original EveryPoem Studio house-voice poem.
She keeps one place beside her
without guarding it.
A cousin sits there at Easter.
A grieving friend arrives in June.
In October, a stranger asks
whether the seat is free.
It always is.
By Christmas the stranger knows
when to stand,
where the hymnals hide,
and who needs a lift home.
Friendship sometimes begins
with six inches of polished wood
and no questions at the door.
67 words · 14 lines · Free Verse