Ode To The Box The Freezer Came In

The cardboard expanse in which we kids could meet
held worlds of wondrous measured fantasy.
It was...

§ The tank which rumbled across the plains to upset
Rommel and turn the tide.

§ The fishing boat in which we braved the waves to
wrest our living from the sea.

§ The house on the prairie in which we hunkered
down to meet the wind which blew the dust into our
meals.

These and more it became. Bright imaginings.

These the monster box became.

More precious than the freezer which came within
and now took pride of place in our home, the box
filled our play with a hiding place,
a jail cell,
a gold mine.

I wonder at what a few cents of paper, ridged
and stiffened, can do to the child's mind. What
can we fill within the void of holding?

Why do our parents buy such polished gifts?

Give me a box with room to hide a dozen kids
and I will give you the foxhole in which we regrouped,
from there to win the war.

~Stuart Andrew Marshall Tanner~