The Collectors Poem by Sheena Blackhall

John Reznikoff owns a collection of dead folks' hair
Harvested from Edgar Allan Poe and Albert Einstein,
Abraham Lincoln, Marilyn Monroe and Ludwig van Beethoven.

David Morgan gathers traffic cones. He has over 500 of em at home.
The US Mint reports there are 125 million coin collectors in America
Mike Fountaine a Pennsylvania man, collects McDonald's merchandise….
75,000 items so far

Bob and Lizzie Gibbons house 240 love dolls.
They dress them up, take them on shopping trips.

North Carolina dermatologist Manfred S. Rothstein
owns 675 back scratchers from 71 different countries.

The largest umbrella cover collection is owned
by Nancy Hoffman from Peaks Island, Main.
She has 730 unique items.

Elkhart County's Joann and Cecil Dixon
Collect chicken memorabilia
Chicken fridge magnets, chicken planters, and ornaments
6,505 items connected with poultry

American Charlotte Lee, owns more than 2,100 rubber ducks
In Singapore, Jian Yang has 6,000 Barbie dolls.

Artist Etanis Gonzalez houses an army of creepy dolls
On his balcony in Venezuela.

Londoner Margaret Tyler's home is a shrine to Britain's royalty
Zhang Dafang collects telephones in his flat in Beijing, China.

And as for stamp collectors!
John Lennon and Freddie Mercury were serious philatelists
As was Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones,

Celine Cornet of Belgium keeps 2,200 stuffed toy pandas
French model Emeline Duhautoy has collected stuffed toy cows
1,679 share her home in Saint-Omer, northern France.
Chen Qingzu keeps 5,000 bras in China's Hainan province.

My father, however, collected rare white heather
Tramping the moors for hours to hunt plants down
In case life's checks and balances came unstuck
The heather was his insurance for good luck.