Collections

I vividly recall
Collecting things
As a kid
Like stamps and coins,
Baseball cards
And even match book covers.
Later on my collections
Became larger
And more expensive
But no less temporary.
I would collect tools and things
That might prove useful someday
If someday ever came,
That is if I could find them
Once the need occurred.
As an engineer
I collected an incredible variety
Of engineering reference books
On almost every subject
In Civil Engineering.
My wife on more than one occasion
Questioned my sanity
Because I bought
So many reference books,
Few of which were ever used.
My decision to take a break
From engineering for a while
Was finalized when I donated
My engineering book collection
To the county library.
The library turned around
And sold the entire collection
To a local engineering firm
For a tidy sum.
Being an avid chess player,
I collected hundreds
Of books on chess.
I have books on
Every major opening,
The middle and end games
As well as collected games
Of the grandmasters of the past.
I would be a much better player
Than I currently am
Had I read many of those books.
Every once in a while
I will get rambunctious
And pull one of the chess books out
With great pretense
And intention to improve my game,
But my commitment
Doesn’t last long enough
To significantly improve my game.
No wonder I have
Such a storage challenge!
I am a collector of things
That interest me at the moment
But my interests frequently change.