Little Inklings 2025

ODE TO THE JUNK DRAWER By Alex Brandrick-Morris ’30 You are the keeper Of everything and nothing. The broken pencil, the key that has rusted away. The tangle of wires for the TV that never existed. A length of string without an end, buttons that multiply like rabbits, every time your door is closed. You hold them, fragmented memories of previous times. You are the guardian of everything and nothing. We open you, and sometimes find what we never knew we were looking for. A small piece of ourselves, left behind. Like Pandora’s box, packed with secrets and surprises. The lost receipts, the coins that slipped through the cracks. You are the defender of everything and nothing. We walk away, but always return, as if to remember, and collect our woes and wishes. You are the keeper of everything and nothing, and in that, you are perfect. 76