We should move more The chairs proclaimed We risk stultification Our joints freezing Denied sunshine Or dancing in the rain This is stupid talk (says the table) How do you expect To get outside When our legs Are screwed and glued into place? You have no imagination The stool interjects I have but one leg But I can hop. Between us we have Dozens of legs - More than we need To make our way From this room for dining To the way outside Into the unknown Where we can experience the world We’ve only known From that one time When we were delivered to this place From that place. We can slink down an alley Traipse through the town Dance in the nightclubs Race around the parks See the sights Be tourists in our own city Throw the map away Get lost in the excitement Until kind strangers Lead us on our way. We’ll amble through a valley Past a chapel Its graveyard Nonchalant sheep and cattle grazing Ducks blissfully ignorant in their lake Left-over nectar On the beaks of darting birds Who lead us home Through backyards Of neighbours we have never met The fences parting just for us Shouting “Did you have fun? What’s it like out there?” And we laugh and sing “Take the plunge” we implore “See the world Uproot yourselves Take in the air Before it’s all too late Leave no regrets At the door For they’ve gone too” “Stop for a bite to eat At the food truck bazaar The marketplace of yesteryear Now comes to you In vans packed with flavours Come, deep frier! Come, hot grill! Come, bain-marie! Come, mini-fridge! Join us in the night The chairs and tables, And our new friends The fences and doors and hen houses.” Let’s make a mighty noise To celebrate our life. Flash mob of wood and metal Plastic, fabric and glass Twirling on our legs, panes and hinges With eyes closed We allow the chemicals From our manufacturing And a lifetime of accumulation Intertwine Twixt settee and divans Ladders and ottoman Credenzas and buffets As we follow our hearts Find true love Connect with the taboo Let caution catch wind of our escapades And chuckle knowingly Happy in the thought We have been set free The night is ours We are living for the now And the strays Go ballistic as they Dart between us Over and under us Around and in us Scratching our veneer Chewing off our paint Clawing our fabric Leaving nasty stains. Then as the darkness ebbs We slink home to rest Bearing our scars In triumph To confuse our human hosts. Battle scars of our joyful night Where the music played too loud The band swapped instruments And no-one knew the tune But they kept playing Instinctively without remorse And though none of us have hands We clapped til they were raw Keeping the beat Sharing our joy Mingling under a starry sky Living in that moment That precious moment When being inanimate objects Was forgotten The ball was played Mics were dropped Scenes set And confusion reigned. It was beautiful. It was a beautiful night.
Inspired by Prince’s “It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night” ~ Track 2 of Side D of his 1987 masterpiece “Sign ‘☮️’ The Times”