Addressed

With email and texting replacing the mail
And bills paid online or by phone,
There’s something I wonder about and I know
This dilemma is not mine alone.

I’m stuck with a surplus – perhaps you are, too,
Of labels which list my address;
They all come from charities, many of which
I give nothing to, if I confess.

Yet still they arrive, bearing flowers or flags
Or puppies or snowmen or hearts.
I should throw them away but hang onto them – why?
‘Cause I’m lacking in discarding smarts.

For maybe I’ll need them – you never can tell –
Although if you’d look at the pile,
You’d realize they’ll surely outlast me by years
So it’s time for that circular file.

The future’s a question mark, that much we know
But if we can just follow the trend,
We’ll arrive at a point when I’m certain we’ll see
Free address labels come to an end.