The Things We Keep

A box of old photos, the ones that never made it into the scrapbook
despite having purchased lovely, leather-bound albums
in which to place them.

An old bag of shoes that were meticulously collected,
worn once,
and forgotten.

The remnants of that party
the one where you researched
and decorated with unusual, beautiful items
that you never could bring yourself to throw away.

A suitcase full of clothing-
switching out the winter or summer wardrobe.
At least,
that was the plan.

So many boxes, so many memories
the mind reels from the strain of collecting them all
considering them all
loving them all.

While the life lived that is catalogued here
suffers.