Honorable Mention - Music Boxes by Cassandra King

Music Boxes

by Cassandra King

Honorable Mention

When I was little

Grandpa bought me pretty music boxes

with twirling ballerinas in pink leotards

dancing bears with tall top hats

figurines who came alive

when I chose to wind the shiny metal knob

and set the gears in motion

when I chose to make the life-songs play

their light repetitions, repititions

to break through the silence

for a time.

But no matter how far

I turned those shiny knobs

no matter how fast

those ballerinas twirled

those bears danced

those gears turned

at first,

the dance and songs

would always get slower

and slower

and

slower

and

stop.