Rocking Chair - Deborah Liv Johnson
Buy yourself a rocking chair,
the kind with swirls engraved
and plant yourself upon the throne,
lean back, now close your eyes.
The journey will begin with you,
a tiny babe asleep.
The man beneath your cradled head
is singing very soft.
Now you're eight and all grown up,
you want to rock alone.
But when night falls, you think again
and snuggle next to your mom.
Your jeans grow short, your hair grows long,
the age alone draws near.
But still you rock in solitude
and sing your dad's old song.
We wonder why the older folks
must always sit and rock.
Perhaps we'll know and understand
if we look back and remember.
Buy yourself a rocking chair,
the kind with swirls engraved
and plant yourself upon the throne,
lean back, oh lean back,
now close your eyes again.
© 1983 by Deborah Liv Johnson