I just wrote this inventory-poem in response to Writing 201 Poetry Task 8, which asked participants to clear out a drawer and describe its contents. I found this task especially instructive and productive. I was not only inspired to clear out a drawer I haven’t opened in ages, but also shocked by the way the accumulation of objects and the way I choose to describe them build up a faithful but far-from-flattering form of poetic self-portrait.
Stuff stuffed in a drawer
A July 2009 electricity bill
Three old adhesive bandages that have still not lost their stick (two now I just tested one)
A worn leather wallet full of faded receipts, blank check-stubs and unused business cards
First drafts of apologetic notes left by semi-literate maids
A pub calendar
Expired aspirin
A packet of spring onion seeds
The incomprehensible instructions to an old cell phone
Rubber bands melted by the heat
Long-since dried out pens gifted by friends
Earphones and one-armed sunglasses
Annoying-sounding wind chimes
A Zippo lighter and a key-ring bunged up by rust
A succinct birthday note from an ex
Plastic parts whose function is now obscure
A list of poems (some unwritten) for inclusion in a book
A scratchily written film review and a sketch of TV script
Emails from a probate lawyer printed out on sky-blue paper
A single loose paperclip
A green highlighter pen still in its packaging
A 2007 charity Christmas card from a work colleague (candles, holly, pine-cones, baubles, painted with mouth and feet)
Dust and sand
A plaster of Paris statuette of an angel with a clipped wing and one leg broken off
A single roulette chip
The handle of the drawer
Page 22 of the screenplay of Casablanca [beginning “I’ll get it from the safe”,
ending “Rick: I stick my neck out for nobody.// Renault: A wise foreign policy.”]
Poetry, Politics & Language 
Entertaining poem and a life in a drawer.
Pretty interesting list !
Thank you for your feedback
I just loved the ‘handle of the drawer’. And the rest, what a great picture (reminds me of a much loved sister). Thanks for the follow – I somehow missed you on Poetry 201, so many people to read, so little time, now I can read some more of yours.
Thank you for your kind comments