Boxes

50 magic tricks,                        *         Sleight of hand as

you opened the box                  *                      carelessness; your

and they disappeared:              *                            magic slips through

one by one.                               *                                         inexpert fingers.

Dinky, Corgi, Matchbox            *                 Your memories linger,

you took out the toys               *                    futile persistence: the last

boxes disappeared                   *                          rubber tyre on

along with their value.             *                               your Batmobile.

A chemistry set                          *                            You kept coloured

went up in smoke,                     *                                powders and granules

when you spilled meths            *                                       in their test tubes,

on the cardboard.                      *                                          until the dog was sick.

A Seiko watch                           *                                     The contents were

nestled on puffed                      *                                               lost in a teenage

plastic satin                              *                                                    fumble down by

inside leatherette.                    *                                                        the canal bridge.

At the end there                       *                                         No one will see

is the worthy box;                    *                                               the last magic trick;

cheap deal or polished teak    *                                                   your disappearance

the fire will burn both.             *                                                        in the last box of all.