Wilted chaos

In the bottom drawer
of his desk he keeps
his pieces, parts,,
and scribbled shorthand
notes and fragments,
pebble-thoughts and pearls

They are clamped together
with infernal shopping lists
for celebratory dinners
once eaten by his desk
in solitude;

There are IOU’s
from friends who passed,
receipts for paper,
ink and screws, his will
and the paper of divorce
he never signed;

there are quotes he wrote
himself and aphorisms,
a sonnet for a visitor
with whom he parted ways,
passport photos, tickets, briefs

In the bottom drawer
of his desk he keeps
his wilted chaos under lock and key,
while on the shelves beyond
(his library, his life)
perfection rules.

Today I host Open Link Live at dVerse which starts at 9 PM CET. I will read my new librarian poem.

December 9. 2021