SLIDE-SORTING

In sacks and packets and little piles the slides
That illustrate our lives have gathered dust
For far too long. This year I feel I must
Impose some order. So I collect them all

And resolve to spend an hour a day to force
Them into a sort of sequence, ruthlessly
Discarding the second-rate photography,
And painfully throwing out some kids on horses

And beaches and laps, the proms, graduations
Hikes with friends, bike tours, holiday
Reunions. Soon they’ll be packed away,
Labelled with lists for proper hibernation.

But what of the sorter, after the life review
(That often and wisely foreshadows our final adieus)?

(84, February 13, 1993)

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