Second Hand Store
(Tweeted Feb 21 - Apr 9, 2016)
I know who I am
never need a description.
But the box I came along in
always comes with an instruction.
Multi-languages were translated
to ensure my clarity.
Pictures were intentionally added
to confirm my functionality.
But that was long ago,
in case you wanted to know;
before being selected
as a pending gift of Perfecto.
We were once carefully chosen
and wrapped with sparkly ribbons
by someone with a smile
and wishes that brightens.
But as time marches on
somehow we got left behind.
As a thing not quite necessary
Or styles un-aligned.
Unwillingly we retired
despite the greatest intentions.
There is no need to ask ‘Why?’
Surprises are part of Life’s Admission.
Packaging we lost in the process
together with missing accessories.
Might as well say goodbyes
to our paperwork & warranties.
Can one name them all
on a simple excel spreadsheet?
Permutations of Disappointments
alphabetized on a list!
‘D’uplicated presents?
‘I’ncorrect sizes?
‘U’ndesirable colours?
Hmmm, it creases!
too ‘D’ark?
too ‘T’all?
too ‘W’ide?
Oh, it clashes!
not ‘F’it?
not ‘Q’uite?
not ‘S’ure?
(Sigh…), excuses?
What is the best way
to define our ultimate freedom?
Items of well-used?
Or by-products of consumerism?
In darkness we stayed in attics,
with dust we collected in basements.
Specimen for forensics?
Spiders as tenants.
On a hanger we got hung.
At a corner we let sit.
There's no need to get upset!
‘It IS’ what ‘IT IS”.
From Proprietary to Ambiguity
From Ambiquity to Obscurity.
Maybe with slight variations;
we all share similar stories.
***************************
Finally on a clean-up day
we acquired our true release.
Got piled high into a box
and off we went to donation alleys.
Workers with gloves walked by
carefully assessing us.
Heard something we longed to hear,
“Ah, here is a GOOD one!”
We got sorted by sizes,
and assigned by departments.
Even colour coded, and
on shelves we’re placed with others.
**************************
9 pm says the clock.
Staff ushered last customers;
Happily holding their purchases
like second Christmases!
Lights were soon switched off
as staff locked the doors.
Everything quieted down.
Nothing stirred inside the store.
Interestingly unplanned
we all took a deep breath.
Slowly we adjusted our eyes
the task of a daily exercise.
“My friends, how are you?
You must be new, I assume.
Make yourselves comfortable.
Sorry, do you need more room?”
We politely greeted each other
despite the uneasiness.
Like travelling on the same boat
towards this void ahead of us.
The brave ones started speaking.
The quiet ones silently listened:
"There're just too many of us!
No more space in their cupboards!"
Near across on the racks
voices we heard back,
"We'd never even been worn.
Look! Our tags are still on!"
A beautiful armoire,
way over on the floor,
"My master repainted his room.
Now I don't fit his decor!"
Respectfully we took turns
tales we shared one by one.
They all had identical themes:
how we used to be Im-por-tant.
We all contributed.
We all made our mark.
We all tried our best,
until…a change of hearts.
But gratefully we agreed
in spite of our gloomy destinies;
as long as we’re not in garbage
there’s still a chance for you and me!
Sharing is always good,
much like group therapy.
To know we are not alone;
surviving casualty.
******************************
Days blended into afternoons;
afternoons eased into evenings.
Is this Sunday again so fast?
We’re not even counting!
Time sweeps by without a sound
as sure as any clockwork.
Everyday new neighbours arrived,
placed in spots uncluttered.
Daily we congratulate softly
to our dear lucky bunch
who got wheeled away in carts
lining up at cashiers at the front.
One last time our eyes meet
by invisible lips we ‘tweet’…
“New beginnings to you…”
“You too; soon, I’m sure…”
Some of us are rather lucky;
the store is their brief pit stop.
Others are not quite fortunate;
a permanent ‘window-shop’!
Friends we made came and gone.
Those still here felt like an eon.
By night we leaned on each other;
a ritual we depended upon.
***************************
Today we saw ‘Some’ arrivals.
They must be a Happy Trio.
Three sturdy racks for greeting cards,
displaying on the floor each followed.
Although we can’t really move
our eyes strained to find out more.
Such cheerful disposition!
Unlike any who came thru this door!
We kept counting the minutes
until they locked the store.
In the dark we introduced each other
the same way we did before.
The three were obviously buddies
as if just been to a wonderful trip.
The armoire right beside them
commenting on their tips.
“How does a rack travel?”
“You’ve got to be joking!”
“Let alone 3 together!”
Our minds were baffling.
The tallest rack paused
as he caught our conversations.
Politely he turned to face us
and proceeded with explanation.
“We did went off to a journey
but one not measured by Distance.
The trip we just came back from
was a journey of Found Confidence.”
I guess we must have frowned
as we listened to his words.
Is that how they talk?
The vocab of metal structures!
The skinny rack continued
as he nodded to the first.
As if he has something to add
like a story they’d rehearsed.
“There once was a simple girl
who wanted to follow a dream.
She did not know where to start,
feeling lost as she seemed.”
“Her wish was really quite simple:
to Shine with what she’s Able.
Owning something that’s just hers
at a fair somewhere renting a table.”
“So she regularly visited
her good old Second Hand Stores.
One by one she found us.
That’s 15 years before.”
“At first we were just a place
for her to keep her papers.
Her hobby we helped organized
in company we found wonders.”
“But reality was too real
as she juggled her priorities.
Dreams can always wait
as she attended to her duties.”
“So it all ended up
the lonely three of us
among her other craft tools
in basement collecting dust.”
“But out in the blue one day
she found her wake-up call.
Our team got dusted off
and got moved up to her 2nd floor.”
“As soon as she fell asleep
we threw a secret party.
Never seen her As determined;
fireworks should have been handy.”
“But in our guts we secretly knew
we three must solemnly say;
this new journey she’d found,
she must let go of her old way.”
“Then where did it leave us
three bulky metal friends?
Her house was way too small
as her new idea expands.”
“Then last night she sat with us
gave us all an invisible hug.
She thanked us for the company-
And 15 years of blind trust.”
She said,
“Though tables I’d never rented
you’ve been my Mental Anchors.”
“Proud medals I’m awarding you:
"My Dream Enablers.”
Then it quickly dawned on us:
Although Successes make Winners;
at the end of the day
Presence Matters!
So,
“We said our sweet goodbyes,
It’s time we step apart.
Not as bitter articles of unused
but a thankful story that’ll last.”
“This morning we got gently lifted
to the back trunk of her car.
Glistening eyes we detected
like battles she needs to conquer.”
“She took pictures for keeps
and saved in phone folder.
Then sent us proudly off
to assist the next Dreamer!”
The round rack took over
to give the skinny one a pause.
“The reason you see us smiling
for we have reasons to applaud.”
“We're more than racks you see.
We are the girl’s Dream Weavers.
To keep someone’s wish alive
what an honour it is to be.”
“We used to pride on Seniority.
Now we specialize in Turn-Overs!”
We’re not a collection of 'Neglected'.
Rather, we’re Life’s Ambassadors.”
“For all metal racks that came before
we are the proudest ones for sure.
To bloom wherever we're planted
as we construct our memoirs.”
This wonderful gathering place,
Why a cemetery for the Ignored?
The way we see it:
it’s a launch pad for Fight-ORS!
“Can't wait again to be chosen
to our next Story-of-Perfect.
Keep adding on to our resume:
Composers of “Life” music.”
***********************
All of us were in awe
by the tale we adored.
The Trio shared with us
a Perspective we didn't see before!
What an up-lifting story
to boost our low morale.
We should’ve looked at the positives;
negatives un-permitted to derail.
Who we really are
is not defined by our predicament.
It’s merely just a Label:
False Advertisement!
All we hidden Potentials,
in hopes of a better Tomorrow.
A new Dream, a new Horizon;
a newer Path to follow.
Unleash that mighty Genie
That we ALL had in us!
Allow it to reveal and say,
“Master, …at your service!”
Hope is now in the air.
just like the Trio say.
It all depends on how we think.
Maybe today is the Day.
So patiently we sat awaiting
for someone who’s connecting.
To see beyond our conditions
and know us without hesitating!
Just now someone came by
with glasses he critiqued.
Then dial a # on his phone and say,
“I think, I found an Antique!”
**************************
**************************
If we ever wanted to try,
a chance to think beyond the ‘Square’,
there’s no better place for training
than to visit a Second Hand fair.
You walk in without an expectation,
except with an open mind.
To see NOT what’s in front of you
But what it could be - Behind.
Release all our preconceptions
of what a thing should be.
To capture purely in its shape and form,
rather than what we were trained to agree.
It’s like the basic pointer
to become a real good painter.
He draws from what he feels and sees
and not what his brain argues it to be.
Horizontal it’s a tray.
Vertical it’s a shelf.
Repainted it’s a garden decoration.
A true gem all by itself.
In a kitchen it’s a spice rack,
in a garage someone’s cabinet,
on a table a crafter’s delight,
in a cellar a workman’s storage.
No need to inquire
how each ends up here.
Except they now exist
at this time for you and me.
Isn’t there this old saying
the idea of musical chairs?
Someone’s once un-needed
is another’s true prayer.
**************************
Say,
if we have our own tracking #
in a system we all registered,
tracing all the places we’d been,
and all the battles we’d conquered.
We'd find our own invisible thread
weaving as each intercepts.
Creating a tapestry of encounters;
quite an interesting concept.
If each thread is to hold a pen
to document its unique journey,
the way one Stitched its way through
on this fabric of destiny.
We’d write how one stitch anchors
then supports another to go further.
completing long, inspiring stories
until we ran out of paper.
This could potentially be
one of our models of replica
of how each of us are related
in respect to one another.
Who really are We?
What do we actually See?
Can we be of Help?
What’s needed to Be?
Tightening old gaps?
Enclosing frayed edges?
Mending an old seam?
Simple retouches.
Every stitch counts.
Every measure adjusted.
Every patch in place.
Entire blanket benefits.
Every Kindness counts.
Every Relationship adjusted.
Every Integrity in place.
Entire World benefits.
To shift our matrix of existence
easy enough to consider:
One caring determined soul
could make a difference Forever!
If "This" needle is your pen
and my cards your helping hand
to a friend during times of need
overcoming a circumstance.
Be an Anchor.
Be a Friend.
"You've been strong."
"I understand."
"Have no fear.
Dry your tears.
Storm will pass.
We are here."
Don't let hesitations be the Barrier.
Doubt is always Circular!
Re-direct it from lost energy
for tomorrow needs to be Better.
Give yourself a gentle pat
upon your brave shoulders.
For You have just become
one of Symphony’s Effectors!
***********************
Welcome aboard EFFECTORS!
Let’s do this exercise together:
Go first to your text msg mode
quickly type in “Effector”.
+ADD this A-SAP to your dictionary
b4 it auto-corrects to ‘defector’!
although both means Agents of Change,
the term “Effector” is better!
This is Symphony’s simple wish
to empower our hidden powers.
No matter what our passion brings
we are our future’s Contributors.
Change begins with a whisper.
No need to book a bulldozer!
Step up bravely to our plate;
A pact we promise each other.
Synergy delivers by Action:
A process we Resonate together.
Because as 1 thread reaches out
------------->
We All Recover!
**************************
