~ sandy hiortdahl apprenticeship mark twains chair is wicker painted white as his hair , interlocked strands of riverbed reed , smooth-cornered and theres tennessee williams in one of those green aluminum lawn chairs with saggy , frayed seat stirring the olive around his martini while katherine anne porter and flannery oconnor jest about the recent weather , seated together on a sturdy bench , their mirth catching the attention of john gardner , whose strong hands rest on the polished oak arms of a rocking-chair carved with the north winds face : his hair gleams and blue smoke curls from his pipe as under the eyes of these masters are others like me , hammering , upholstering , somehow oblivious as they hold and mold the chairs they will sit on , the chairs and benches they create .