Cardboard box lids are magical.
They can be anything a cat imagines.
Unpacking a box of her daughter's college books,
My Own casually dropped the lid to the floor.
That was three months ago.
The second the lid hit the floor,
brother Tiggy claimed it.
There's a blanket of pink, white and blue knitted squares
folded neatly to the edges of the box to cushion it.
There's also one corner neatly duct taped
because brother Tiggy leans heavy on that edge
and mere box glue could not contend
with Tiggy's ample gingerness.
When the sleepies overcome him, Tiggy imagines the box lid is a bed.
When Chipie the Chipmunk comes for his morning peanuts and seeds,
Tiggy sits tall and imagines the lid is his front row, theatre box seat.
When the day is especially sunny,
the box lid becomes Tiggy's tanning bed.
Sometimes, My Own drops a jingle ball or a toy mouse into the box lid.
It is then that Tiggy imagines it is an air hockey table.
Once upon a time, a cardboard box lid,
fell from out of the blue.
And,
Magic ensued.
