I, Left, Pandora's Box Poem by Susan Lacovara

Was it unknowingly, that I, left, Pandora' s box
To nurse the contents, ill and offending
A Queen' s guard, always unblinking, present at post
securing, that surely, hope remained...
Regardless...and relentless in given task

Was it coincidence, she received her riches
Tucked in tissue papered preservation
dainty doillies, crocheted keepsakes
of treasured trinkets, time could not tarnish

Where would my memories rest...
if not in the swirl of escaping peril
caught on breaking branches, in the breeze,
blown in the brambling thickets of thorns
scattered, like cotton seeds...

Hers, warm, and woven into wooly hand-me-downs
to be given to delightful daughters
Mine, mere moments of muddled, muffled madness
I try desperately to deceive, and retrieve
so they may do no harm....
This Pandora' s box, I wanted no part of
Was it unknowingly placed outside my door
that I should be entrusted with it's turbulence...
Did she imagine me, stronger, sturdy...
Dedicated to the deliverance of everlasting hope