I'm not messy; do not live sloppily
With one small exception, okay?
I really don't like things just lying around
So, out of sight, out of the way. 

When my friends drop by, unexpectedly,
They look all around, and they say,
How does your house stay as neat as a pin?
Do you keep it like this every day?

Do you always put everything up when you’re through?
Do you never just… leave stuff about?
And when you are still in the middle of things
Is it just that you can’t leave them out?

You surely can tell that you live all alone,
No husband or dog to mess up.
But you live here, and yet I still never see
Any kicked-off shoes, or coffee cup.

What they haven’t seen, and what they never will,
Is the mess behind my closet doors:
My gift wrap and gifts share the shelves with my towels,
Bubble wrap, mailing boxes, the floor.

Then there’s my clothes closet which houses my shoes,
And I admit I have a few.
I keep all my old ones because they still fit
Along with the ones that are new.

The problem is that two wall shoe racks are full
And shelves hold my purses and stuff
So, since that leaves only the space on the floor,
More shoes, and if that’s not enough,

Clogs, lots of slippers and three pairs of boots,
Crutches, support sox for veins
Tomorrow the pest control guy's coming here
But no floors in closets remain, so...

Tonight I clean closets: the mess on the floors
Will be straight, and extra things are
Gone, temporarily, last minute ditch 
(for one day) in the back of my car.