Hoarders: Tara by Kate Durbin

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend August 31, 2016   Hoarders: Tara   Kate Durbin

Orlando, Florida   My name is Tara and I’m 55 years old Precious Moments angel statue I would not classify myself as a hoarder, more of a rescuer of Target     receipts When I first moved in it was just mostly boxes because I was moving in then I tried to unpack but everything just got put wherever Martha   Stewart magazines I just started asking God that I would like to know what it would be     like to have an organized sea of stuffed frogs A bed looks like a bed with picnic baskets And your table doesn’t have stuff on it it’s a painting of a cornucopia And the couch you can sit on it people can sit on it like American girl     dolls Well I’ve finally come to the realization I have too much Praise Hymn   compact discs I told God that I just have this one wish and this one dream that Lord you just send someone to help Jesus Christ Hearts Me Florida license plate holder My mother, she had a one-bedroom Nativity set We all ended up sleeping in the same crumbling Family Circus comic     strip I didn’t know how a house was supposed to be tangle of mismatched   electronic cords I haven’t been in the closet in five years because Victorian dolls I realized I have to let some things go because how am I ever going to get out of this mayhem and foolishness if I don’t Walking in Wisdom Embracing Love 2005 calendar  You have to be willing to do the work McDonald’s minions Happy Meal toys You have to be able to let it go uncashed paycheck from 2008 If you don’t, it will swallow you flattened American flag balloon My brain is not wired for this 18-year old pile of unopened mail I’m trying to recover from a migraine marching penguin with Santa hat I’ll do that tomorrow but then tomorrow something else happens           candy cane stuck to the floor Whoa, that’s my vertigo lint roller covered in lint I don’t want to deal with cordless phones coated in dust I need to breathe nearly natural poinsettias I’m hoping and praying for a miracle unused Trisha Yearwood tickets from 1999 I always felt like if Jesus came to the door and opened the door I         would have felt so shamed because I wasn’t showing gratefulness         and pink Jesus Christ “Enjoy” baseball cap in Coca Cola font Those are mine, I keep those Bed Bath and Beyond crystal Kleenex holders I didn’t realize there was so much dust Easter bunny I have done the Lord’s work humbly Thomas Kinkaide puzzle of Cinderella castle Yes and with tears            Copyright © 2016 Kate Durbin. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “This poem from my latest body of work is about the A&E reality TV show Hoarders. Like the TV show, the poems in Hoarders are organized to focus on specific individuals and their things.” —Kate Durbin   Kate Durbin is the author of E! Entertainment (Wonder, 2014). She lives in Los Angeles, California. Poetry by Durbin   E! Entertainment (Wonder, 2014)  "On Gifts for Grace" by Bernadette Mayer "All the Whiskey in Heaven" by Charles Bernstein "Nothing Ventured" by Kay Ryan Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038