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It’s spring, again – that ‘clean-up’ time of year
with winter’s dust and cobwebs put to flight.
All this de-cluttering will cost us dear

as bleach and acids scour the atmosphere
and throwing stuff away gets the green light.
It’s spring. Again, that ‘clean-up’ time of year

becomes the latest fashion; must-have gear
is hi-tech rubber gloves for looking right;
all this de-cluttering will cost us dear –

more plastic dumped, and then to re-appear
in seas, on beaches, in dead whales – a blight.
It’s spring, again. That ‘clean-up’ time of year

(pictured on Instagram) looks cavalier –
windows too bright, the sparkling tiles too white.
All this. De-cluttering will cost us dear:

out with the old, the book-ish; homes austere
and textureless as screens pass for ‘delight’.
It’s spring. Again. That clean-up time of year
and this de-cluttering will cost us dear.