Empty Chairs

Gathered together they wait patiently,
not a soul lingers nearby.
They wait without moving an inch,
unknowing who will be their future.

Seventeen of them are around,
waiting for the room to fill up.
Slowly one by one receives a soul,
it sits empty no more.

It has a gift of life,
for just an hour or three.
It hears the crying and the laughter
of whomever sits upon thee.

It learns a story of someone so special,
it is now content.
It becomes a reflection of the person,
it is their spot in the room.

Suddenly, without warning,
the human rises tall and proud.
Swiftly walks away and out the door,
never to be seen again.

It waits so anxiously,
for another to fill the void.
Will another come,
who may ever know?

We are all in this world,
for but a fleeting moment.
Our stories are told loudly,
and we laugh all together.

Yet a time does come when we get up,
we leave the room without a warning.
Just one question does remain,
that we must ask ourselves:

Will I remain an empty chair,
for I am leaving a legacy?
Or will I remain an empty chair,
for I am no one worth remembering?