David Lauterstein: Puzzle Box

A puzzle box from Japan —
a few pieces of wood that slide around until
you find a little box inside.

But the puzzle box I am thinking of
has many more compartments and pieces to move.
The first side slides up,
the piece underneath moves easily and
here is a large compartment.
In it there is a little plastic figure of a brown person.
Then the opposite side slides up
and a quote from Kafka on a little slip of paper —
“War is the result of a monstrous lack of imagination.”
There is a false floor in this compartment.
Here, there are little legs, arms and heads
representing 75,000 people killed in Palestine and Israel.
Then you start crying,
and the top slides away.
You may want to find the reason
why people kill each other
though greed seems to play a big role.
When that top slides there is a little drawer underneath
that has burnt into the wood itself —
“Peace is a need” – Herbert Brün

Then a side piece slides and reveals a drawer that has
tiny pieces of black licorice
as if death could be sweet
but now you are crying
with however a tiny piece of licorice in your mouth.

How could this happen?
The intrigue of the box mixes with
the vast regret for human unkindness.
In the last drawer you find,
an unexpected aroma
from incense in a temple so small
you almost can’t see it
and that is where hope begins.

~~~

Copyright 2026 David Lauterstein

David Lauterstein is a writer, therapist and educator in Austin, Texas. He has been writing for 60 years and is an MFA candidate in Poetry through Pacific University. His latest book is The Memory Palace of Bones co-authored with Dr. Jeff Rockwell (Handspring Publishing).