“The Cardboard Box”

I could contain
my entire world
therein.

It’s been
a constant companion
from childhood when

this time machine
propelled
our every game.

And I recall
each move
we made,

each move we
made in life that took
us far and wide

across continents,
from castles
to little grey townhouses,

from gated homes
to a sprawling llama farm.
This I recall…

that my first crib –
a cardboard box – that
all my life

a fascination I have had
with these four sides
of the story –

or five. It is
as much a home
as I have ever had.

Written January 2014, Emma Dumitra.
Image from http://www.theguardian.com.

“The Present Day”

The precious maybes in my peripheral, they linger,
but when I twitch they ever blink away.
Made mad by my own future, I must retreat,
be cradled by each day as it comes.
‘Tis no defeat to hold the present day in high esteem.
‘Tis no defeat to listen to the people
as they dream.

The precious maybes’ hopeful wings throw shadows
o’er my waking world.
All is only as it should be when my vision,
not impaired by dreams that may or may not be,
from the corners of my round eyes sees
the past to be beheld,
the future to be near,
but the present to be here.

Written January 2013, Emma Dumitra.
Image from agricultureproud.com.