This poem provides detail. But the fact remains: replacing objects is easy, just as the full meaning of those objects is irreplaceable. Sometimes, when we're lucky, replacement and transformation can be the same.

Saving

The old chairs did their job,
Holding on as they grew rickety,
Homemade to begin with.
Buying new ones cost little,
Losing them like losing ourselves.
They had hosted family and friends,
Joys and disappointments,
Simple meals and feasts.
From their perch we saw,
A cliff beating back Hawaiian waves,
Black spruce under Alaskan peaks,
And ferries plying Puget Sound.
The pricelss seat of memories.
Falling easily into a pile of wood,
They became a table, childrens' blocks
And frames for new memories.
Their essence lives on, a glow,
Beautiful wood, lighter now,
Wise with the luster of life,
And times remembered.

-Charlie Neff