The Black Box

The truck pulled up at the crack of dawn

On a Sunday morn in June,

I could hear the men unloading from

The darkness of my room,

‘What a strange time to deliver,’ I thought,

As I rose, pulled on my socks,

For there on the porch outside I found

They’d left a big black box.

 

There wasn’t a mark on this gleaming box

But the scrawl of my own address,

Nothing to say who it was from

Just a silent emptiness,

I left it there til the sun came up

Then I pulled it through the door,

And there in a tiny script was writ

The legend, ‘from Zhongguo’. *

 

Why would the Chinese send a box,

I hadn’t been there for years,

Maybe the Tong I’d tangled with

Back then, for black was a curse.

I looked for a way to open it

But there wasn’t a flap or seam,

It wasn’t tin and it wasn’t steel

But a substance in-between.

 

I dragged it out in the garden then,

Outside of the door, at back,

And thought that I would figure it out,

Then the box began to crack.

It heated up in the morning sun

And began to peel away,

Opening up the inside to

Be seen by the light of day.

 

And there inside was a giant egg,

The biggest I’d ever seen,

All sorts of curious markings on

The shell, in Mandarin.

I went inside and I locked the door

And I sat myself to think,

Why would they send a giant egg?

My mind was on the blink!

 

It only took a couple of hours

In the sun, that day in June,

And the shell began to break apart,

To hatch in the afternoon,

And a thing crawled out of that empty shell

That I never thought I’d see,

A tiny Chinese Dragon hatched

Came out, was suddenly free!

 

I couldn’t believe how fast it grew

As it fluttered out its wings,

It ate the cat and my bowler hat

And a host of other things,

Then it wandered down to the goldfish pool

Slid in, and began to swim,

There isn’t a single goldfish left

And the pool is sizzling.

 

Its head comes up and it gives a roar

And it sets the reeds on fire,

The flame is almost ten feet long

And my future’s looking dire.

Will someone get in touch with the zoo

They can have the beast for free,

Oh no! It’s wandering up the path,

No doubt, it’s looking for me!

 

David Lewis Paget

 

*Zhongguo - pron. Jong gwar - China

Reviews

[Devanshu Rajput]

Oh! A poor you. I am really feeling very sorry for you. Lol!

Well, Chinese people are not only intelligent but also are cunning. In my view you should send back a more fierce animal(If the dragon spares you)!

A nice poem, the tale was incredble.

Devanshu

[Confuser]

Wow David: Great writing, title and ending...got a great laugh out of it to: (dragon coming for you) The visual of the dragon is a marvelous one, to think it they really existed: Not certain where the history of dragons began...now I have to find out...your poem has such a beautiful flow, I could not pull away. You are a wonderful story teller and the tiny details you provide give such a spark to your writing. Wonderful writing - you have a wonderful imagination. Loved it. Thank you so very much!!! Dale

[alf]

Hi David. This is so good. I loved the story you told, the easy rhythm that rolled past the eyes and the word choices that made this such a good read. How lucky you were, not everyone gets to have their own Chinese Dragon. Still, I guess after the cat . . . and the bowler hat . . . Anyway, its a great poem, alf

[Valentine]

This is hot and also funny. you had better jump into the goldfish pond so he doesn't set you ablaze. Love the egg and it cracking open. At first I thought it might be an Easter egg full of candy....Valentine

[Lyn Croker Paget]

Wow! That's certainly different David. Dragons are such mythical and magnificent creatures attached to many legends. Better pen in a miracle quickly as it sounds pretty mean with those Fire Breathing Flames. lol A good read with a nice touch of humor.