Unfinished Work
To internalize this poem, visualize the specter of an empty chair,
One chair is over here . . . and another is over there.
The one there belonged to Dickens of social critic writing fame,
Until death overtook his time. We celebrate his works and name.
The chair here was of one night’s sitting . . . by Abraham Lincoln,
Seeking an hour’s respite from Civil War that month won.
Bringing Dickens and Lincoln together for us this past Friday,
At Ford’s Theatre the National Park Service presented Dickens’ play:
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens, published 1843,
a story of redemptive societal transformation.
Ford’s Theatre, National Historic Site, Washington DC
Wonderfully staged and acted, the presentation took our breath away,
But above stage right was flag-draped box where Lincoln’s life was taken away.
Though both worked at different works, both worked tirelessly,
To improve man’s treatment of man—fair and equitable society.
We were struck by the juxtaposition of these messages twenty-two years apart,
These two men telling each in audience: it is for each of you to start!
It is our Unfinished Work, now for each of you to bear,
And do the best that each of you can do . . . to fill our empty chair!
© Forrest W. Heaton Chapel Hill NC 9 December 2019
