Opening the Box

In the second half of the exercise, the students opened the box and built another sonnet on the contents of the box. In this case they were supposed to imagine that the contents of the box was all that they had left of a beloved friend. Here are the results.

Last journey to the beach, if fate permit,

Ironically, you’re gone the way they did,

Despite your attempts to improve it,

Innocence gone due to crime committed.

From that day’s plans of gazing at grand waves,

To a dream of a change in emotion,

Change from a cold, hard half to one that paves

A weaker, yet whole love and devotion.

However, that will never be the case

I now carry the promise you then wore,

Alone, numb, and unsure now of my place,

Without you I’m significant no more.

Your music alone I shall continue to play,

Until my fate allows our meeting day.

....Gabrielle Arroyo

as i unsealed the box my shocked jaw dropped
i thought of vengance for this mind torment
now the temptations had finally stopped
but now i had questions, what could this have meant?

Could this have been a gift from Great Aunt Swiss?
Though i imagined her past emotions,
and i had thought the box held her first kiss
feelings from when it happened in front the ocean

or her tooth from when it fell in 2nd grade
or the first love letter cute john gave her
the future she planned and wouldn’t let fade
all her hopes and goals she knew would occur

it held only one item, quite reckless
but sadly all i found was a necklace.

...Naila Khan

Fragments of a Heart

The magenta ear-buds become her link

Between this tragic world and the beauty

Of music. Smooth, metal silver keys clink

As they open heart and soul, in the diary.

The bracelet, a reminder of ancient

And eternal bonds shared by former friends.

The coin is large and round, twenty-five cent

Given by an old loved one that transcends

Goodbyes that may have been. But that crumpled

Flower will forever survive blooming

With the love it represents, a life led.

The inscription faded now from rubbing,

Proof of the power of this talisman,

Guardian angel to a young woman.

...Laura O’Hagan

First she came, and then she left

The endless joy she gave when we heard her cry

Her life was taken, an act of theft

could barely walk, and suddenly she could fly

Her mother’s first mistake, was the toddler’s last

No one heard it when the 12 pound clock fell

The God’s kept quiet as they watched her life past

For a mother to get her child back, her life she would sell

The brown little box sitting on the dresser

With white tape and cardboard texture

is everything the mother could find to bury with her

Or at least what her destroyed mind could let her remember

The God’s were quiet when they watched her life past

Maybe it’s peace she will find, but she lived young and died fast

...Julia Le

Sonnet #2

When I need you here I just close my eyes

Cherishing all that I have left of you

I just never got to say my goodbyes

Having fun, coming home past our curfew

That lip gloss you used to wear to go out

Blue memory card with your memories

that black eyeliner you won’t go without

all your colorful ducky’s and birdies

Your phone charger, that favorite key chain

No longer can I see you, embrace you

Your eighteen birthday toasting with Champaign

Watching the smurfs with you eating fondue

All these objects is what remain of you

that brown pizza box that was my rescue

...Patricia Gonzalez

A Last Time

Gone without a trace, people often say

Of passing time, moments one can’t reclaim.

But in this compact box is where it stays,

Where for just an instant it stays the same.

A birthday photo without negatives

Is a memory that I can’t rewrite.

An old hand drawn portrait of relatives

Is an emotion I can’t reignite.

That one armlet once worn for its luster

Remains unmoved, waiting for your warm hands.

The clip donned for strength you want to muster

Remains exclusive for only your strands.

It seems the only thing left in my care

Is a single button, a single spare.

...Jason Tse

Stolen

As I stare at this pendant, I see love,

A silver, shining horse, ready to fly.

Just like you, young Liz, a soaring dove,

Looking down from heaven, I still ask why.

You left behind your favorite blue crayon,

Never colored with, the blue too striking,

And a nice nickel of which you were fond,

Always landing on tails; to your liking.

The earrings were a gift, shipped from Rome,

That reminded someone of you, gleaming gold.

The small toy hamster just like Max at home,

Since dorms weren’t for pets, or so you were told.

The crab was from Jacob’s trip to Peru,

Oh Liz, my best friend, oh how I miss you.

...Alyssa Capili

Love always remains, in my case, this box

No letter to be read, nor one last wish

Her smile, laughter, joy, forever lost

Yet in this white box she left me a wish

A lover’s name, her heart remains with him

A small eraser removes love-filled thoughts

The Band-Aids hold the wounds and covers them

But through a black pen leaks forbidden thoughts

She frequently read to forget the past

A library card lies still in the box

A small hair clip, for she grew up way too fast

A postage stamp if she wants to get lost

Oh how I wish I could fair you adieu!

But now I am simply here missing you

...Christina Zuniga

Pieces

By Liz Licea

In this box lies a life, a life gone,
six memories of the past, I hold
six cherished memories, future's dawn
tickets, a picture, a ring made of gold.

I look at the picture, her smile, two friends
two guys dressed in suits, a girl in a dress
to the boy at her right, her arm extends,
if he's her boyfriend I try to guess.

Gazing at the ring, I think of her
her past life, her family mourning
maybe an accident, I infer
she passed away one lovely morning.

Tears appear as I hold the pieces,
pieces of her, the sadness increases.

...Liz Licea