Consultant
By Craig Kirchner

The front door opens to a great room,

a kitchen, dining room, living room, great

right, the only partition a kitchen counter.

The common area is perfect for a pool table,

but after much deliberation I’m putting

a Thinker statue, sans the stone pedestal.

Rodin created his version of Dante

to sit at the entrance to the Gates of Hell

and originally called him The Poet.

He has been sitting for better than 120 years

at the Musée in Paris, deep in existential thought,

by now having contemplated everything.

The pose, elbow on knee, chin on fist,

the physique of a pugilist, I don’t relate to,

but we did both major in philosophy.

I considered a life size Plato, Socrates

and even a mockup of the Bard,

but the bronze green looks good against

the light taupe living room walls.

I’m placing him facing the entrance,

back to the tube, no breaking news distractions.

I want to be able to turn off the damn thing,

apologize for interrupting, and consult

with someone with a resumé,

who has had time to consider all options

and given my situation, mortality

and my front door some serious thought.