There Was A Sideboard Poem by Paul Reed

There was a sideboard,
All sinewy and brown,
Shiny with it's recent polish
Whose fragrance still hung in the air,
A fruit bowl and doyleys,
Family photographs,
A nickel-plated trinket bowl
Full of pins and threads and old coins
And other long-forgotten little things;
A black plaque announcing
‘Happy Silver Wedding Anniversary,24th March 1970';
There was a door at each side
The left-hand door contained old Christmas cards
And a bottle of whisky, part full,
And a box of Ritmeester cigars
With their ornate bands;
In the middle were four drawers,
Or was it three?
Each containing various items of linen
Tablecloths, place mats, serviettes,
More doyleys,
The right-hand door contained glassware,
Crystal sherry glasses and tumblers
A faceted, teardrop-shaped decanter
With it's glass stopper
Which I remember taking out
And putting back in;
And, somewhere, part-burned red candles
Whose flame I remember
Casting their shadowy light
During a power cut;
And all these things are gone.