Refills

So many things lying about
useless for want of refills
all different from one another
all perpetually forgotten.

Item: one beautiful pen
courtesy of Singapore Television
--dry and will write
no poems in the short term.

Vases missing flowers
toys missing children

Item: one record player lacking a needle
and hundreds of records with
unsounded grooves

candelabra with nothing to ensconce
ashtrays lacking butts

Item: various objects for
odourising the house
sadly sans smells

A china heart with no keepsake
books devoid of pressed flowers

Item: a clock purchased as a present on
Christmas Steps in Bristol
bereft of a battery

Dozens of flowerpots with no earth
leaves with no trees attached

Item: one wine-rack but no bottles
for the privy purse
is tight

A dustsucker with no bags
a cat with nothing to scratch

Item: a toilet-roll holder embossed
"Massive Toilet Requisites"
tied up with tape and
empty of meaning.