Chair Man

A few weeks ago when the Bernie-Sanders-in-the-chair meme took off just after Joe Biden's inauguration, I played along by posting several variations on the theme -- HERE.  

The photo of Sanders (on the left) went viral faster than a Trump family member jumps on a new grift; however, this was not the first time an image of an old man in a folding chair went viral.  The first time was way back in 1865 when Walt Whitman was photographed at Lincoln's second inauguration by his brother Wink, and variations of that photo (at the right) spread far and wide.

Below are some of the hundreds of photographs  from the 1800s where Whitman's image was added -- some of the first memes in our nation's history. 

In response to this phenomenon of a photograph going viral, Emmett Lee Dickinson penned a now-classic poem "The Old Man sat among the Crowd," below on the left.  Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to write her poem "The Mountain sat upon the Plain," below on the right.
​

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:
 
The Old Man sat among the Crowd
In his small folding Chair –
His observation omnifold,
His meme now everywhere –

The Memers played around with ease
Like Gymnasts round the bar –
Grandfather of the Days is He
At Dawn, a Superstar –

By Emily Dickinson:
 
The Mountain sat upon the Plain
In his tremendous Chair –
His observation omnifold,
His inquest, everywhere –

The Seasons played around his knees
Like Children round a sire –
Grandfather of the Days is He
Of Dawn, the Ancestor –