Box

Julia Gerhardt

Poetry

June 1, 2021

i want to put you in a box

i would tape around the box

i would kick the box

you’d rock and rock in the box

i’d hold the box close to my chest

i’d hear your whisper inside

you do what you think is best,

so i’d ship the box

then i’d ask for it back

you’d grow tired in the box

but you know you cannot rest,

penance, we’d call it

you would laugh

and i would not,

i’d think about your long limbs in the box

how—if i ever pulled you out—your body

would be tangled in itself

like a befuddled cartoon,

i rest my back to the box

lean on the box

nod off on the box

you’d get mad at me,

me and the box,

i’ll remind you why you’re in the box,

remember when you assaulted a girl

and you didn’t even know it?

you will go quiet in the box,

lean in the box,

nod off in the box,

and i will be mad by the box,

for ever having been so in love with you.

Contributor(s)

Julia Gerhardt

Julia Gerhardt is a writer living in Chicago. She was nominated for the Best Microfiction Anthology 2020 and Best Small Fictions Anthology 2020. She has previously been published in Perhappened Magazine, Comstock Review, Okay Donkey, and others. Visit her at https://juliagerhardtwriter.wordpress.com/

Box

Julia Gerhardt

Julia's Articles at KGB LitMag