By Andrew R. Duckworth

Box life,
Small town box,
Unwrapped in the wide open,
And then, I sought to break loose.
I sought to break through,
From inside out.
So, I took a jet across the country.
I saw what I had not seen,
And I returned home wiser.
Box life,
One country box,
Unwrapped in the open,
And then, I sought to break loose.
I sought to break through,
From inside out.
So, I took a jet across the ocean.
I saw new cultures,
And I returned home wiser.
Box life,
One Party box,
Unwrapped in the fragile society,
And then, I sought to break loose.
I sought to break through,
From the inside out.
So, I spoke to my neighbor,
And I learned a new perspective,
And I returned home wiser.
Out here, in the great wide open,
It seems we’re not too interested
In exploring.
The box.
We like the box.
It’s safe, cozy, comfortable.
But it’s sad.
No new frontiers to explore,
Because we’re afraid we might be challenged.
No new ground to travel,
Because we’re married to ideas.
No new voices,
Because diversity of opinion is dangerous.
No.
The same box.
The same voices,
The same walls,
The same ideas,
Because our fear controls us
Inside the box.