I have before me a box...

I have before me a box,
Tied precisely with tarred twine.
Tied around plain paper,
The paper smells like coffee on a Sunday morning.

I have before me a box,
The address written with straggling letters.
The ‘I’ changed to a ‘y’,
An unacquainted stranger maybe a male maybe from the shore.

I have before me a box,
A plain yellow, half-pound honeydew box.
A plain box save for two thumbprints,
In the left bottom corner.

I have before me a box,
Filled with rough salt,
Filled with salt for preserving things,
Such as hide or FISH.

I have before me a box,
Inside it are two ears.
Inside are two gruesome relics,
Two that are not a pair.


I have before me a box,
It tells a story to me.
Of a male sailor late one night,
Who packed them up and sent them away.
WE ARE INVESTIGATING A SERIOUS CRIME….

By Martha Hayward

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Inspired by...

The poem I am told was inspired by The Adventure of the Cardboard Box written as part of the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle (left)

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The old original...

The webmaster grew up with this image of Holmes rather than the brilliant but modern Mr Cumberbatch.

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