File Cabinet Contents



File Cabinet
drawers open
full of receipts,
reports, bills,
the important
and the nonsense.

It is a high rise
paper pack rat
paradise.

Envelopes spill,
drawers stick,
magnets decorate
its sides.

Folders share
contents
that make
no sense,
paint chips
and medical tests
combined
in a folder
marked green.

The keeper
of the cabinet
finds order
in chaos,
a filing system
of should,
shouldn’t
and oh
what the hell.


©Susie Clevenger 2012
On Mary's Mixed Bag Friday at Real Toads
we were asked to think about ordinary things,
tasks, items, aspects, annoyances, joys, etc. 
of our lives and write about one of them.
Real Toads

Comments

Marian said…
exactly! it's the oh what the hell stuff that you search around in vain for years later.
Grace said…
I have a drawer at home full of those papers and what-nots...I think we need to do spring cleaning and clearing away ~

Good take on the ordinary things ~
Ella said…
How did you get a photo of my cabinet? lol
Okay, I do save paint chips...I love their poetic names :D
Fun to read~
Kerry O'Connor said…
It is a high rise
paper pack rat
paradise...

A round of applause for this incredibly apt metaphor!

Well done, Susie
Mary said…
I love this:

It is a high rise
paper pack rat
paradise

I've cleaned mine out within the past year. Feels really good to throw out the 'what the hells' sometime! LOL.
Ron. said…
I do not recall inviting you.

You nailed it, SC. Well done.
Daydreamertoo said…
Oh that would drive me nuts. I'm not OCD but, I do like things in their place.
Nice use of the prompt :)
Wow, I think we have the same filing system! Very well written, I also have a thing for paint chips, have them tucked away in all kinds of random spots in the house.

This poem reminds me of a book my sister gave me, "A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder" by Eric Abraham and David H. Freedman. Very interesting read, certainly relieved some of my anxieties about my lack of organization (ok, that's putting it nicely, it's better described as controlled chaos!)
Margaret said…
ha ha

It is a high rise
paper pack rat
paradise

ingenious. I've enjoyed this theme very much. :)
Geraldine said…
this is really good and SO true. love the second stanza most of all! spot on Susie.
Sherry Blue Sky said…
Ah, a sister-woman, I see. Are all writers awash in papers that Should Be Sorted, but never are? I certainly am. Who has Time? Love this!
Ed Pilolla said…
wow, you really composed a filing cabinet that starts out with all the right intentions and ends somewhere squarely in reality.
Ellecee said…
Enjoyed this so much. I see there are lots who relate. Me too.