Text Prompt

You find a time capsule buried in the backyard of your new home (or anywhere else, depends on you). What’s in it? How old is it or its probable story is up to the poet.

Contributed by Bhasha Dwivedi.

Strange Discovery

Earth preserves unique treasures in its bosom
gold silver jewels, precious stones and bones
the box we found in the back yard of the new house
was strange,as it was not locked nor full of stones

Opening was easy as weight was light, dusty on sight
it contained a paper, rumpled but legible, white and light
a mysterious map of a mysterious kind ,of unique might
a reflection of the greatest part of physical delight

map of the mind it was
a magnifying glass
an audio cassette
a small prayer book
and a note of thanks
addressed to the universe

all the objects were familiar
except the map
hundreds of years old
except for the cassette
and prayers were bold
strangely the language had
two versions, made me sad
when I was able to read the prayer
all was well, and I was glad.