First Annual Wild Violet
Writing Contest (2003)

Poetry— Third Place

Annette Akerman has received the President's Award for Literary Excellence from National Authors Registry. She has also received a Longfellow honorable mention and several editor's choice and editor's preference awards.

The Armoire
By Annette Akerman

Drawn to the sculptured piece of oak
She traces the line of each loving stroke
Of a craftsman's hands now still.
The chiseled wood is the living testament of his will,
Hand-hewn with the mastery of his craft.
The beautiful armoire silently speaks of a forgotten past
As time's talons have treacherously torn from our grasp
The tolerance for beauty once found in the wood carver's rasp.

Oh smooth and sleekly styled armoire of wood,
For centuries I know you have stood
A reminder to us of an ageless ago
When life was less hurried and love's labors would show
Through the hands of the crafter a timeless art
For which our time has no patience nor part.