Joanna Gilman Hyde

I held The Little Tin Box
holding an encasement of glass
loose in a tin framework
with silver filaments inside
& some kind of Praying Lady —
I kept staring at It

The Little Tin Box was set upon
by Me & set upon the top of a giant glass case
housing stuffed birds
& It, My Little Tin Shadow Box
was left behind
in one of those numerous houses named
The Laundry, The Pirates’ Lair, or Oliver Jenning’s
temporarily housing My Mother, My Brother & Me
while My Father was elsewhere

Today I got a Case
from The Framer here
in My Adulthood, A Shadow Box
holding My Advent Calender
made for My Grandparents
when I was a Teenager
in My Single Mother’s House

I have My Glass Shadow Box Now
with Its secret compartments
tipped back for partial view —
My Own Glass Shadow Box
is Here…