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I have before me a box...

Picture
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

Inspired by...

Picture
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)

The old original...

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