Decluttering

NaPoWriMo 2022 // day 17

where
did all the stuff
come from?

the journals
and half-filled notebooks
and old receipts
and half of a plastic easter egg
(from last year)
and the t-shirt from college
the $175 textbook
and stack of sticky-noted folders
and wall plaque?
(also all from college)
the extra battery tester
and the markers and glue
the 12th sweater
and the penguin socks for Christmas?
the ugly kitchen towel
and the beautiful wall print I don’t like
and the red dress…that one?
the three empty candle jars
and the unopened pack of
candle wicks to rescue my favorites?
the papers from the person
who is long gone
and the microphone for the podcast
because isn’t that what one does
during a pandemic?
the earrings that are way too old
and the rubber bands we don’t use?
where
did it
COME FROM?

actually, I know where
it all came from.
what I can’t understand
is why
it’s all still here?