09 –
Irreducible
when I organize
the office
or clean out
my top drawer
the bills go
in the folders
but there’s
stuff that I can’t sort
here’s some
cufflinks from my father
here’s a tape
from my old band
here’s a fountain
pen from high school
when I used to
write longhand
here’s a birthday
card from Lisa
here’s my old
UMass ID
here’s a clipping
from a magazine
that reviewed
my CD
these things
can’t be filed or classified
and can’t be
thrown away
so I put them
in a box
with other
stuff that I must save
irreducible
fragments of a life
irreducible
it’s a wonder
what survives
irreducible
these pieces I
can see
irreducible
must mean
something to me
here’s my old
expired passport
with that
picture taken when
I’d been awake for three days straight
that first week
of exams
here’s an
entertainment license
from 1998
says Nantucket
street performer
yeah I did that
for one day
oh look a map
of Glasgow
I was young and stupid then
I’d hitchhiked up from Edenborough
to visit an
old friend
a trucker
saved me from a snowstorm
are ye daft
lad? then he poured
us both hot
tea from a thermos
and he drove
me to her door
fragments of a life
it’s a wonder
what survives
take one of
them away
I’d be someone else today