Slide That Box Over Here

Part One: Science Friction

Friction can be tricky

if not applied correctly.

None -

creates a slipping hazard on ice.

A little -

causes a blister on your heel.

Too much -

results in the collapse of a relationship.

But just enough -

will ignite a fire

(outdoors to toast a marshmallow

or in your soul to propel you forward).

Part Two: What's In This Box?

I happened upon a box in my attic.

One I must have packed years ago.

It was covered with dust

and had a faded label declaring:

FULL OF DARKNESS.

I wonder why I felt compelled

to keep something so ominous

or how I had forgotten it was there.

Curious as to what it contained,

I lifted the lid just enough to peek inside.

And was confronted with all my previous failures

that I had kept for way too long.

It wasn’t until I got the courage

to turn the box upside down,

that I could release the past’s darkness,

which spilled onto the floor and dissipated in the light.

It was at this moment that my life became brighter.

Now the box has a fresh label:

FULL OF HOPE.