Before The Seat Was Taken

The room was still when Power knocked— not loud, not proud, but sure. The Chair sat waiting, velvet-backed, untouched, and made to endure. The walls had yet to learn the weight of promises unkept. The carpet, clean—untrampled still— knew nothing of secrets swept. The pen was full, the desk was clear, the seal uncracked, unswayed. The nation watched, and History leaned forward, unafraid. And then—he entered, took a breath, sat down without a sound, and all the ghosts who’d come to sit began to gather ‘round.