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The Little Box

TEXTS
The Little Box 
The little box gets her first teeth
And her little length
Little width little emptiness
And all the rest she has 

The little box continues growing
The cupboard that she was inside
Is now inside her 

And she grows bigger bigger bigger 
Now the room is inside her
And the house and the city and the earth
And the world she was in before 

The little box remembers her childhood
And by a great great longing
She becomes a little box again 

Now in the little box 
You have the whole world in miniature
You can easily put it in a pocket
Easily steal it easily lose it 

Take care of the little box 


The Tenants of the Little Box
Throw into the little box
A stone
You'll take out a bird 

Throw in your shadow
You'll take out the shirt of happiness 

Throw in your father's root
You'll take out the axle of the universe 

The little box works for you 

Throw into the little box
A mouse
You'll take out a shaking hill 

Throw in your mother pearl
You'll take out the chalice of eternal life 

Throw in your head
You'll take out two 

The little box works for you 


The Craftsmen of the Little Box
Don't open the little box
Heaven's hat will fall out of her 

Don't close her for any reason
She'll bite the trouser leg of eternity 

Don't drop her on the earth
The sun's eggs will break inside her 

Don't throw her in the air
Earth's bones will break inside her 

Don't hold her in your hands
The dough of the stars will go sour inside her 

What are you doing for God's sake
Don't let her get out of your sight 


The Victims of the Little Box
Not even in a dream
Should you have anything to do
With the little box 

If you saw her full of stars once
You'd wake up
Without heart or soul in your chest 

If you slid your tongue
Into her keyhole once
You'd wake up with a hole in your forehead 

If you ground her to bits once
Between your teeth
You'd get up with a square head 

If you ever saw her empty
You'd wake up
With a belly full of mice and nails 

If in a dream you had anything to do
With the little box
You'd be better off never waking up 


The Enemies of the Little Box
Don't bow down before the little box
Which supposedly contains everything
Your star and all other stars 

Empty yourself
In her emptiness 

Take two nails out of her
And give them to the owners
To eat 

Make a hole in her middle
And stick on your clapper 

Fill her with blueprints
And the skin of her craftsmen
And trample on her with both feet 

Tie her to the cat's tail
And chase the cat 

Don't bow down to the little box
If you do
You'll never straighten yourself out again 


The Prisoners of the Little Box
Open little box 

We kiss your bottom and cover
Keyhole and key 

The entire world lies crumpled in you
It resembles everything
Except itself 

Not even a clear-sky mother
Would recognize it any more 

The rust will eat your key
Our world and us there inside
And finally you too 

We kiss your four sides
And four corners
And twenty-four nails
And anything else you have 

Open little box 


Last News about the Little Box
The little box which contains the world
Fell in love with herself
And conceived
Still another little box 

The little box of the little box
Also fell in love with herself
And conceived
Still another little box 

And so it went on forever 

The world from the little box
Ought to be inside
The last box of the little box 

But not one of the little boxes
Inside the little box in love with herself
Is the last one

Let's see you find the world now 

Vasko Popa (1922–1991) trans. Charles Simic