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Debris

Climbing into dusty cobwebbed attics
looking through trunks and tatty cartons
searching to retain something relevant
and useful from a lifetime's collecting

Things put away with the vague hope
it may be of use sometime, someday
mementos, keepsakes, souvenirs, curios
nostalgic reminders of a life gone by

Toys, dolls, games and models
commissioned for school projects
cups and medals, prizes and tokens
won for sports, contests and academics

Worm eaten, dog eared yellowed books
classics, comics, fairy tales and omnibus
religious literature, travelogues and maps
faded recipes and newspaper clippings

Sepia photos, faded, colourless snaps
albums, scrapbooks and old plastic bags
filled with rubber-banded nostalgia
featuring posing, clowning, forgotten faces

Dishes, plates, mugs and ladles
crockery, cutlery, griddles and pans
dented, battered vessels, greasy and grimy
witness to a family's cooking and eating

Clothes, curtains, linen discarded
furniture sold, given away or auctioned
a house emptied, echoing with sounds
of joy, tears, fights and voices departed

A memory, a warmth, a rustling breeze
through bare rooms with blank walls sweeps
whispering emotionally to a home vacated
a soft goodbye as the front door finally closes