The Marvelous Cardboard Box
By Elton Camp
As a child I had toys just like the rest,
But there was one item that I liked best
You might say it wasn’t even a toy at all
The strong cardboard box, four feet tall
It held a new appliance from the store
I’d never seen a box near that fine before
I was afraid that I would be out of luck
My Dad said to throw back onto the truck
When I asked to keep the box around
He agreed with a disapproving frown
“You have no need for it that I can see,
But if you want to have it, OK with me.”
That big box became my own fine retreat
And to me, it was almost like a hotel suite
It was where I could crawl right on inside
Anytime that I decided I wanted to hide
And in my imagination, I had no doubt
As a fort, it would keep the Indians out
Too, when I decided a hermit I would be,
Then it became a private, dark cave to me
For months, the box stayed in good shape
Even the pouring rain it was able to take
I one day cut out windows and a front door
And then I could pretend like never before
That it finally wore out couldn’t be denied
Then I cut it all apart and made me a slide
I’d scoot on it right down the steep hill
So it was a wonderful thing to me still
The box I had several decades in the past
But, fond memories, the box did outlast
If such a box should now fall into my care
To play with it even now, I just might dare