Puzzle Box Poem by Suzanne Hayasaki

I am a Japanese puzzle box,
Lacquered and locked,
Sitting on your desk like an Amazon Dot
Waiting for you to say my name.

I am a miniature maze.
I am a decorative spy.
I am a gift received,
Acknowledged and forgotten.

And so I have settled into your routine
Like a fountain pen or a paperweight.
Always visible but never seen
And so I know you in all of your moods.

I have ceased dreaming that some genius
In some idle moment will notice me
That his inquisitive fingers will probe my panels
That his persistence will release some spring.

I no longer believe that like a genie
I will be freed by some random man.
Instead I plot, I pace, I plan.
With enough time, I will find my own way out.

And when I do, I will take everything I have learned
From all of those conversations I have overheard
And write my own story!