Box of Binders

I looked upon my cluttered desk

despaired again once more

my life all fluff, nothing done

and now it’s time to go.

I laid the binders on the floor

began to make the piles

of trips and friends, events and fairs

of what I’d planned and done.

I filled each binder carefully

with names, brochures and notes.

Then side by side until all full

I laid them in a box.

I looked around the tidy room

bent down, picked up the case

and held it close, my ex-pat life,

finally noticing, now, its weight.