The Melancholic Collector

Big Hat, a photo by []Aaroneous Monk[] on Flickr.

***

I don't want to build
or own anything new
but to use and inhabit
what has come before,
molding it to my needs,
a Salvation Army store
approach to living,
breathing in musty
smells while rubbing
my hand along rough
and uneven surfaces
imagining who has
worn these clothes,
what has been
in these drawers,
who has read
these yellowed books,
being the latest
link in a long
chain of existence,
feeling connected to
those who have
gone before while
my days play
themselves out
and the next
melancholic collector
wonders about who
I might have been.

***