By Charlotte Oakes
Behold this Box
It is a remarkable Box: It holds everything while nothing at the same time
It is circular and has no corners for things to get stuck in
It is a small Box but there is no limit as to what it can hold or how it will grow
It is sturdy enough to carry my heavy burdens or a handful of fireflies
It carries the Spirits both large and small of those before and after me
It is an unadorned Box needing no ornamentation, but it is none the less beautiful
It makes no judgments as to what is placed in it, or taken out of it
There is no top for this Box so you can readily see all that it holds
It contains love that I have, love I have missed, and love that will be here soon
This Box is illuminated not from within but from without
God is somewhere in the Box between my visions and dreams
Wait, can you hear its music? Whales calling, children laughing, earth chimes, song of the quetzal,
purr of a cat, cicada wings flapping, hum of water over stone, a full moon rising, a garden of
bees—are all contained in this Box
It speaks in harmony to friends I love, friends I miss, and friends I have not yet recognized
It contains all my joys, and everything that might be less than joy, and measures each equally
It contains the earth I came from and the earth where I am going
It carries a family with all its frailties’ and strengths
It holds that which is precious to me, but also that which I need to better understand
A pin fits nicely in this Box and so does a banyan tree, since it is a Box of the unexpected
The Box holds my trinkets, but also promises broken, passions of war, and dreams unfulfilled
You can ask questions of this Box but very few answers are revealed
I bless this Box because it has shared the nuances of life with me
You cannot borrow this Box, but only create one of your own
Behold this Box: Nothing more and nothing less
