What is a body but a cardboard box

smoothed over with wrapping paper?

A shiny exterior that beckons eager eyes,

and a sheen spiral of store-bought ribbon.

When people receive you they want

to crack you open

to see what is inside of you

to unveil the mystery

hidden beneath the happiness

of feathered tinsel and floral scribbles.

They slice through Scotch tape

hoping what they discover

is something they will cherish

until time wraps a gentle fist

around their sleeping soul.

But they never quite know

what will lie inside

until they are face to face

with unfolded flaps.

Because a body is simply a cardboard box.

The gift itself is bearing witness

to the box’s contents: a treasure to hold

through fleeting years.