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