i know Like you That I could put this all behind me That I could pull it all up and stuff it into a tiny box and never let it out again And go on with my life And smile And be a happy man Successful Waiting for whatever it is that will finally **** me And then die. I could do that. And everyone would say how marvelous that he could overcome the things that were done to him Or the things that he had to overcome Or some such thing Perhaps they could even write it on my tombstone "He overcame so very much." How proud they all would be For a day Maybe a day and a half But there would still be the matter of the little box I've had that little red box since I was a very little boy And I stuffed things in it right along Boy did I stuff that box as fast as I could Sometimes it was all I could do to stay ahead of things Nearly exhausted with the stuffing. But eventually I won I closed that box and locked it up And carried it with me everywhere I went And then came that day when it dropped And broke open And all of the things I had so carefully stuffed away burst out all at once (Surrounding me with horrible truths Such awful things Things with which at last I had to deal What awful times those were What anguished times And I could do that again I could I have repaired my box And I could gather all the things The awful things that still linger in the air The things that have not run their course Been understood And stuff them back into the box And have room left over for the new things that pop into my brain from time to time New memories from here and there And I could smile And go happilly on my way And everyone would feel much better Everyone would see me smile And I would not cry out at night Or stare ahead silently Or seem to not be listening Or any of that Only, I would still have my box The one I started stuffing when I was a very little boy That box And I'm not willing to do that so other people will feel better If I have to take my last breath one moment after my last flashback One moment after my last tear I will not ever shut the lid on that box again I will not Because the only place to store that box is in a tiny little mushroom house deep down inside the mind of an abused little boy A place in which I spent 15 horrible years
Alone
And ain't nobody goin' to make me and my box go in there again.