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The Antiques Buyer
Meets His Match
“What’s the best you’ll do?” I asked;
__“It’s nice, but needs some work…
and parts for these, as you may know,
__are sometimes hard to find!”
“If you don’t like it—leave it, sir,”
__the gray-haired lady quipped;
“finding what it needs to function
__never crossed my mind!
I let buyers wrestle with
__the costs of restoration;
leaving things the way I find
__them keeps my prices down.
That’s the bottom dollar,” she
__asserted with a smirk,
then nailed me with an angry glare
__in deference to my frown.
“Seven bucks is crazy,” I
__unloaded on the gal,
“when it could take another 5
__or 6 to make it work!”
“Not if when it’s all restored
__it’s worth a couple thousand—
which it is,” she fired back,
__“now, suit yourself, ya’ jerk!”
The truth is—what it needed was
__a piece of cake to find,
and yes—when fixed—potential profit
__stood at—“through the roof,”
So, as my wife had prophesied:
__“You’ll one day meet your match.”
In this particular circumstance
__she’d finally found her proof!
.
.
Mark Stellinga is a poet and antiques dealer residing in Iowa.
Great interaction between the characters, Mark, and a fine choice of picture.
Thanks for the read.
You’re welcome, Paul, and thanks for the compliments. Evan found the great image of course.
An intriguing poem.
Did you go back for the piece?
Hi Sally, it was MANY years ago, but I probably did go back, my wife and I have been restoring antique pieces for more than 40 years and loving every minute. BTW – I left out some of the ornerier back-and-forth!
I really like the way you made the conversation sound natural while keeping the meter.
Thanks Cynthia…much of my work is loaded with dialogue. I’m a blue-jeans poet without question.
I also learned never to argue with a gray-haired lady! You presented this situation perfectly.
Thanks, Roy, it’s one of *many* similar ‘dickerings’, and thought not all were gray-haired gals (some were bald guys), they were definitely among the toughest to reason with.
Enjoyable poem Mark. Thanks for the read.
Thanks for ‘like’, Russel, I mildly resented and couldn’t help but love this old gal at the same time. She’s what I’ve become…
This is a fun poem with great musical meter that I really enjoyed reading a few times. Thank you Mark.
Hi Norma, I’m glad you enjoyed it. The actual exchange this gal and I had was a wee bit more grown-upper, and in our many years in the antiques business it was a fairly common back-n-forth! It’s part of the collecting game, as I’m sure you know. Many more ‘meaningful’ pieces in the queue, this one’s just for smiles –
Nice one, Mark. As Cynthia already mentioned, incorporating dialog into an established form is a bit of a feat. It’s good to know that corn isn’t the only thing that’s grown in Iowa.
Thanks, C. B., you get good at dialog by being a serious windbag…voila…
Fun to read! Thanks, Mark.
Thanks, Paul, this sort are always fun to whip up, far more meaningful pieces in the queue – this site was a wonderful find for me. 🙂
Mark, welcome to the SCP with a wholly engaging and intriguing debut poem. I too admire your ability to incorporate dialogue seemingly effortlessly. Your ability to paint a slice of life with words is admirable. Great stuff!
Hi Susan, I thought I’d introduce myself with a mix of smile-evokers and thought-provokers, and Evan elected to begin with this little #. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. I’m hoping one of the next few to appear is – “Sophisticated Lady – Small Town Girl” (it’s in the book), one of my many heart warming narratives. Thanks for the note – anxious to see your next contribution. 🙂