a list

the box

this box is unimpressed by that box
unimpressed by the plastic tape and lo-ply cardboard
what's left of an imagination smeared across the interior of the bottom

the box implies mobility and immobility
a cage that takes a journey
a warm embrace and fake enthusiasm
entertainment behaviors swirling around commodity

the box hides art through misdirection
it contains all the platitudes and wan suggestions of life lived successfully
all the hobbies we could ever want

the box opens up to all values
commodity value
use- and exchange-value
moral value
even aesthetic value
close your eyes
stick your hand in and rummage
you may be surprised

the box holds the truth of itself but communication is limited
we are asleep beside the light switch
our fingers are numb

the box empties out a religious text in its own way
the cliches of martyrdom and passion and sin have no place here
everything truly is permitted inside the box

the box is a maze of dialectics
the box is the original home of the lost and found
the box never presents the third option

the box is an empty frame for a dream
a magnetic field condensing around sleepers
gathering all swimmers in its wake
drowning some in flux

the box implies pointy sharp & edgy
narrow & sectarian
the box could be the cult of the hidden
or the miracle of the revealed

the box knows resistance
knows decay

the box is not an oracle
does not assert
the box loves only itself
expresses its wildness of being in code

the box knows that poetry is the only language of truth
and thus we may only know each other through this shared art

the box knows also how ridiculous this art is
knows that it should be opened and laughed at
or dismissed entirely
knows that it should be smashed
knows that it should be recycled

the box shares this truth
the box is the biggest eater

the box will not cram imagination into a corner
or empty it onto a childhood floor
the box rattles around the universe in the trunk of a bumper car

the box cannot smell and thus is never offended

the box is authentic even when its contents are not
the box could be a gun
or a balloon
or a handshake
or a telephone call

the box always comes back as itself
the box is behind your bumper sticker
the box fuels your ethic

the box is life and thus fragile
the box will eat itself
and leave its art behind



-- sept '16