I spend my days 
Collecting smithereens. 

I find them on buses 
In department stores 
And on busy pavements. 

At restaurant tables 
I pick up the leftovers 
Of polite conversation 
At railway stations 
The tearful debris 
Of parting lovers. 

I pocket my eavesdroppings 
and store them away. 

I make things out of them. .

Roger McGough