The chimney sweep is for chimneys
The memory sweep is for minds
He’s the reason you’ll never forget your own age
But your house keys you never can find
Yes, this is the job of this memory sweep:
He cleans informational soot
So you cannot remember the brand of your flour
But you know there’s five toes on each foot
He sweeps away memories of most of your meals
And most of the times you sipped tea
And sweeps away every darn thing that you did
Before ‘round the time you turned three
He sweeps away most of the books that you read
And most of the times you watched golf
But leaves intact some silly facts
Like the lyrics and tune of “Rudolph”
He sweeps away most of your math skills
And science he’s all but dismissed
Although he steers his dustpan clear
Of the time that you had your first kiss
Remember your lessons in Spanish?
Of course not—he’s swept them away
But he hasn’t removed the time that you got
Twelve bad bee stings in only one day
Yes, you may not have heard of this sweeper
But I swear that he lives in the brain
And I promise it’s his fault, not mine, that I can’t
For the life of me recall your name.
