Waste Paper Basket Poem by Jibrael Jos

My life is like
a waste paper basket
with unfinished stories
scribbled and thrown.

Old love stories
are in there somewhere,
the existence of which nobody knows.
Birthday cards, too,
from those friends,
who now I consider as foes.
There are wish lists
that have become catalogs
andshopping catalogs
that have been added
to my wish list.

There was an old photograph
torn in half and discarded.
It is now taped together
and sits proudly on my desk.

I have a shredder
But secrets still get out.
Since some I don't really feel
like shredding.
And then, I spend my weekends
for hours rummaging,
to get a glimpse
of that discarded note
that old friend once wrote.

I sometimes have an urge
To light the whole thing up
But then I realize
These tiny scraps are part of me
Without them who will I be?
My handwritten phone book,
My old "I love yous",
Post-Its and boarding pass stubs.

Maybe one of these days
A story will complete
Until then my life is like
a waste paper basket
With unfinished stories
scribbled down and thrown.