‘what you would not want discovered after you die’ by Thirza Clout

includes the chaos of your sock drawer
thick woollen walkers jostling tights
both sheer and laddered
pop socks

you do not want to die wearing pop socks

every time you tug the drawer open
one hand shoving stuff flatter
odd socks tired of waiting years
for perfect matches
discard themselves onto the floor

you blow the dust off them before
you restore them to disorder

includes the faux leather basque
and anything else from Anne Summers
even if the batteries are flat

includes the little box you kept
with a dozen ironed handkerchiefs
with your mother’s initial
the only thing from her pin-neat drawers
with socks perfectly paired

the only thing you didn’t stuff
into the black plastic bin bags

From issue #3: autumn/winter 2016

About the Author
Thirza Clout lives in Shropshire. Her first chapbook, The Bone Seeker (Mark Time Books UK), was published in 2016. She will be published next year in the ‘Laureate’s Choice’ series of pamphlets (Smith Doorstop), chosen by Carol Ann Duffy. She chaired Wenlock Poetry Festival for five years and is a member of Border Poets.