2004/congestion

Last day of
the year
and I am sick,
the year gather
up on me,
congestion
swelling.
The weight
of things that
came faster
than I could
process them.
(handle them)
That is always
the case,
but more this year
than usual.
I keep cleaning
out, throwing
away,
but it is not
enough.
I see the boxes
stacked by
the door for
pick up.
I know things
have left.
But still I can’t
find space
or lightness
or clarity as
I always have
before.
I’ve felt the urge
to remove what
I want instead
of what I don’t
but I don’t know
where to take it
so revert to old
methods,
odd bits
here and there,
a vase, a jar
a vest.
Nagging me even
more out of their
shelf or drawer,
Piddle piles
I call them,
these miscellaneous
gatherings that
clutter a life.
I’ve had to create
a vocabulary
for what I can’t
cure.
All of it expressing
itself in my
lymph glands,
swollen,
sore,
not yet out
the door.

12/31/04