Untidy room

I wonder what it is about men
that makes us such an untidy bunch
is it that a little dust and dirt
adds character to the place we dwell
or are things like cleaning women’s work
and that is why we have to shirk
or are men like me so immune
that dust and dirt we cannot tell.

I have this natural ability
of leaving things in piles around
stacked on tables and on chairs
placed without a single care
but to be fair I have this rule
that if any stack has not been moved
or has not been touched in any way
and its been a year since the day
I placed the stuff where it sits
then I can safely throw it  away
as in that time I had no use
and all it is doing is taking up space.

I do mop the floors after the dogs
have finished messing up the place
and if the dirt gets to the point
that I trip and fall in my haste
then I will sweep the stuff into the pan
and deposit it in a different place
either out the door into the yard
or in the trash bin if it’s close at hand.

My Mother was the same as me
when she was getting on in years
and when I used to visit her
I had to clear a spot to sit
as she had every available space
taken with stacks of books and such
and I used to say, “What’s with this stuff,
why don’t you get rid of it”?
and she would smile and say to me
“Hey, you never know,
it might come in handy one day”.

I guess that is why I follow along
and stack the stuff in just the same way
and when people sometimes say to me
exactly the same as I said to my Mum
I smile and say the same to them
as my Mother used to say to me.

In the course of my career
Remodeling other people’s homes
one thing I noticed as I visited them
especially when dealing with men
that they all were afflicted in the very same way
and had piles of books and papers and such
all carefully stacked on tables and chairs
which they generally had to clear
so we could sit and pass the day.

I have this theory that in truth
by hanging on to all of this stuff
life will not so quickly slip by
as it does in the blink of an eye
and by hanging on to the past
the years will not fly by so fast
and we’ll get to spend a little more time
making piles of this and stacks of that.
and when the time has come
to move the stacks from the house
then I will do the right thing
and send it all to re-cycling.