A lidless cardboard cigar box
and a fistful of rubber bands
became a homemade guitar
when I wrapped the open box
in one rubber band, then another.

The craftsmanship and skill came
in arranging the rubber bands
in just the right order of width
and tension for plucking a scale
without crushing the open box.

Life is like a banded box.
With the right array of tension
in the fitting places, plucked
in the opportune moments,
music of a sort breaks the silence.

One rubber band too many, wrapped too tight,
and the cigar box caves and is crushed.

David M. Frye
April 27, 2009
Denton, Neb.