yes
and in an illusion of sanity
I made piles of paper
out of the piles of paper
I picked up stack after stack
flicked through them
as quickly as I dared
to determine which had the potential
to bite me
which were likely to be benign
separated those that were personal
and I threw them
bundle by bedraggled bundle
behind the swivel
on which my working world turns
let them rot there for a day
a week
until I tire of their un-filed clutter
safe in the knowledge that there is no prospect
of lingering importance
in their yellowing ink-lines
it is not a great system
I know
but this is the first time
the first day
in many months
that I have seen the green inlay of my desk
and it makes me grin
with foolish pleasure
I don\'t care
what I’ve not yet responded to
nor who I may be causing to wait
or to have to re-write a request
this has been
for me
~