Leader
found Pandora's secret box
opened it

Next day
he sent a thousand soldier boys
to collect butterflies

Eggs already laid
larvae
have eaten the wheat

Our people
sleep in the streets
for fear
of retribution

We will dance together
and bring down the light
and in time of darkness
the birds
will sing down the dawn.

Her collection of small boxes
some quite empty
grows:
heart shaped lacquer,
a miniature of a miniature painting,
a collection of seashells under a tiny frame
a surround of exquisite
an emptiness contains no new words
a place for mini memories
She knows
her life has become a very small oasis
in a world of fearful things.