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Poem of the Week - 'Clear Your Clutter' by Norah Hanson

Clear Your Clutter

My mother kept insurance, marriage and birth certificates
in a biscuit in, to carry out should the house catch fire.
I am drowning in paper which I can't throw away in case
some official at some future date tells me I owe tax,
haven't paid a bill, did not read the small print as advised.

I save love letters, children's drawings, their school reports,
exercise books, certificates, fossils and rocks which fell
on my head when I opened the cupboard door in my son's
long vacated bedroom; birthday, anniversary, mother's day
cards, messages of condolence, ribbons, hair bobbles,
stub ends of pencilsm used candles, a protractor, a T-square,
a compass, a metre-length wooden ruler, twelve one-foot
plastic rulers, knitting patterns, balls of wool, needles,
dry oil paints and brushes, children's annuals, my daughter's
Brownie uniform complete with Pixie symbol and badges.

The head of a silk daffodil sits in a wicker basket,
along with a rubber, two puncture repair kits,
a pencil sharpener without a blade, half a dozen
rubber bands, a squashed tube of super glue,
the end of a bicycle pump, two nails, one screw
and a brass cup hook speckled with green paint.

Zen and Feng Shui clear spaces, allow energy flow,
minimise clutter, achieve balance and harmony,
recommend that matter brought into the home
be equalled by matter leaving it.
I know this because I bought a book titled
'Clear Your Clutter' and I cleared my kitchen table,
saw the beauty of the wood grain, applied beeswax,
gazed in delight at the sheen, stepped back to admire,
stumbled on the piles of books stacked on the floor,
grabbed the curtains, brought down the rail,
smashed a vase, spilt my tea, bruised my bottom.

Too much energy released I reckon.

The first poem of the week of 2016 is all about clearing clutter and starting over with a clean state. I enjoyed the lists and lists of description in this poem; very revealing.

From Norah Hanson's collection Love Letters & Children's Drawingsavailable on our website. 

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