Back to work, so to speak.
so to work is to speak
speak a poem, seek a poem
as I look for today’s work
beginning to harvest the years of my life.

But every workspace is cluttered covered
catchall for tasks completed or not
nemonic reminders of tasks to do
stand-ins for promises unfulfilled.

I remember a book I studied as a young photographer
Weldon Keys and some psychologist laying out pics –
how we communicate without words
through the arrangement of our objects.
Back then I photographed the kitchens of poor migrants,
a drunken indian’s collection of bottles,
the fruit box front porch of a shack.

Now I photograph my own cluttered jumble
a chair covered with multicolored shirts
our oak dining room table –
a gift from Alan fifty years ago –
covered with The Nation, New Yorkers, reading glasses,
a seed catalogue, a disaster preparedness clipping,
my new camera, blood test gear,
pens of different hues, my hearing aids,
and savory seasonings for our vegan meals.

Back to work, so to speak.
so to work is to speak
speak a snapshot, seek a pic of my life.
Today’s work? Begin to harvest the years of my life.

Nonverbal Communication: Notes On The Visual Perception Of Human Relations (1953) by Weldon Keys and Jurgen Ruesch

And not to forget this!
A rescue floppy disk from 6 years ago when my computer still used such archaic devices