The Thing at the Bottom of the Box

It's the Thing at the Bottom of the Box,

It's the It that sets apart the bum and the unemployed

It's that itch you can't scratch, making you feel like a dog with a cone around its furry neck,

It's when you fall and you get back up,

It's the Something Special in a child's laugh,

It's the sparkle in a newborn's eyes minutes after opening,

It's in an aimless lover's quarrel and the night following one,

It's a student at five in the morning finishing a paper due in three hours,

It's in every smile,

every laugh,

every frown,

every cry,

It's in you if you want it to be too.

What is it?

It's the Thing Pandora didn't set free,

It's more dangerous than disease and war,

and more liberating than broken chains.

It's the Thing at the Bottom of the Box.