A THIRD HAND COUCH
What is in everyone’s living room?
Couch, sofa, divan or at least
Something to sit upon.
We had wedding rings and silverware
and a rented maroon something
which belonged to Aunt Helen.
Father talked old Harry Hal
out of a salvageable relic
just for the fun of the bargain.
Dirty, torn and uninviting
With stuffing reaching out of horsehair
Yet for 20 bucks it was his gift.
Second hand stores hold mysteries
Unbeknownst to most who
shy from pursuing a treasure.
Suddenly beside the wedding ring
and the silverware
We had a someday couch or sofa.
The antique relic meanwhile
fermented further in the dark
enclave of the in law garage.
The tack man came with bolts of
Green velvet and transformed
the orphan with magic. And reborn,
the foundling proudly lived again
in another living room where
it took pride of place.
One day, green velvet faded and
looking a bit shabby, it knocked on the door
of the wedding ring and silverware.
The tack man came again with bolts
of color for figureheads of polished wood.
Where is the next someone who has
Wedding rings and silverware but
nothing to sit upon?
Pachofa-Unfinished 
Yes, that is just so comforting knowing that relics remain, survive all those just passing by, giving joy and rest to those as yet to come..
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I love that you said we are ‘just passing by”. How true. If you have somethi9ng you truly love, you always hope someone in the family can want it or use it. My granddaughter once said she wanted this old sofa, but who knows now. She has no place or style for it.
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Ha, ha. We’ve finally replaced our sixteen year old, extremely disreputable, sectional couch with a new to us set (couch and loveseat). It was a wrench to let the old thing go, as it was so comfortable, although very hard to get up out of. Our poor cat is completely confused, as we are so strict about not clawing the new stuff.
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We once kept a lovely silk sofa for years even though the resident cat clawed it on the first day. We gave it to our kids, and it lived on their deck, then was thrown in the dump. Sad. This one lives in a living room we never use (except for long phone conversations!) We have two in the family room, but the only one who sits on them is the dog. We seem to sit in 2 straight backed chairs. Good for the back so I’m told by the good Dr. A.
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I’d nearly forgotten the huge, old overstuffed sofa that came to me as a gift when I took my first post-Liberia job. It was about 12′ long, with huge cushions, and that cut-velour type upholstery in a floral pattern. Oh, my. It was terrible to try to sit on, but it made a fine bed. It was around from 1981 to… 1996, maybe.
Anyway, the day came when my downstairs neighbor was moving, and wanted to get rid of an 8′ sofa with a more modern cut and a nice ivory upholstery. It’s no good to sleep on, but it sits beautifully. Perfection is hard to find.
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I remember that velour upholstery. Our kids gave us their old one in the 80’s in a nice rusty color. I spent a lot of time on it for several years being unwell, but you couldn’t get up out of it easily. My sister-in-law had a huge white leather one which she finally had to get rid of because it was so soft it gave her back problems. 8′ is a good size. The 2 in our family room are each 8′. They look good, but as I told mrsdaffodil, the dog is the one who sits on them. One is leather, and after we throw a ball for him, he races back and leaps on the leather one. I’m afraid one day he will continue on through the window.
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That’s just the place to canoodle and admire the decor, ornaments and landscape all at the same time!
Your house is a warm and welcoming home.
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Thanks Richard. This room is what used to be called the parlour. Little used but Charlie seems to be the one who uses it most as he tosses pillows helter skelter and nestles in in the night.
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