Size / / /

If the world

were paper people

we would all come

in length, width, weight,

and varying degrees

of brightness.

If the world

were paper people,

some of us

would be filled

with words and images.

Some would end

their lives

covered in dirt,

or sopping wet.

Others would be bound

tightly with colored ribbons,

until they were ripped asunder

when their use

had come to an end.

If paper people

were the world,

some of us

would strive

to become cardboard.




Bruce Boston is the author of more than forty books and chapbooks. His novel The Guardener's Tale (Sam's Dot, 2007) was a Bram Stoker Award Finalist and a Prometheus Award Nominee. A Spanish edition is forthcoming from La Factoria de Ideas in 2009. You can visit his web site at http://hometown.aol.com/bruboston.
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25 Mar 2024

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