receipts from the past

the other day i cleaned out many papers from the past
deposit slips, bank statements
things that weren't meant to last

i saved what needed saving: for taxes, audits, any future maladies
but expected nothing special in the piles of wasted trees

as i dug and sorted through the mess
one pile garbage
one pile save
i began to pull out memories from the long forgotten days

receipts, my ancient history, mostly restaurants and stores
from all the places visited, in all the years before

there was the mundane:
mta nyc transit
jk dry cleaners on mulberry
jamba juice
and au bon pain

but also places long forgotten, nights that came and went unplanned:
blockhead's burritos
the art of shopping sample sale
our old nyu haunts around the clock and delion
my favorite diner, noho star

there were even establishments i had no recollection of
places that seemed so very far:
bon vivant?
bottino?
peep?
and houston market inc.?
i may recall the evenings but no particulars, i think

what got me most i'm certain were surprises from the past
a proof of life lived fully
a sign of life at last

hermes boutique on madison avenue when i bought my mom perfume
double happiness on mott street where i got too drunk too soon

the memories came flooding, inescapable unreal
i could not believe just where i'd been
with fervor, zest and zeal

i want to keep on rhyming
and remember all i've seen
the receipts will soon be thrown out
this, the only proof to cling

there was...
re:ab pilates, when i was on that work-out kick
tower video on lafayette street, nothing left now but some bricks

sci-fi diner within disney, when we ate inside a car
the o'neill theatre on broadway, where i saw a brilliant star

jefferson in chelsea, the night i took matt on a date
a song airlines receipt that says i bought "a fruit and a cheese plate"

sushi roku off in hollywood, where i took a trip last year
the common grounds in fayetteville arkansas, the time i got carded for a beer

cedar tavern in nyc, the date reads october 8, 2002
blue water grill, march 27th '03, before b.r. guest was a name i knew

hue restaurant on charles and bleecker, for ms. ashley's special day
bella's italian down in tampa, on an amazing past vay-cay

carte bancaire receipt from paris, france, i've got no clue what that's from
and then park bar on 15th street, when i knew matt was the one

an old clock-in sheet from vento, where i hosted for a spell
$1300 bill at animal medical center, my dog's leg broke when she fell

there's the sta travel slip from london, where i headed who can say?
and our money just keeps flowing, where will YOU spend yours today?