Breaking Out of the Box

They say Miss Maya once mused with a sigh,
“By grade school we have to hush our why.”
Crayons grew quiet. Questions grew small.
Creativity sneaked out the back of the hall.

But somehow I dodged that remarkable fate.
I never quite learned to be properly “straight.”
While others grew up with their sensible plan,
I stayed like a kid with a notebook and “I can.”

They told me, “Think outside the box if you dare.”
“Wait,” I said. “You mean there’s a box out there?”
I hadn’t been told about the lines on the floor—
So I wandered and explored a little bit more.

As a kid watching the crowd from the side,
I wasn’t inclined for the non-Christian ride.
Instead of the herd with their dust in the air,
I took my own path just to see what was there.

Strange as it might seem in that curious plot,
Folks left the crowd and followed me a lot.
I shrugged with a grin and I said, “Well, okay…
I’m mostly just wandering this curious way.”

Then someone proclaimed with a warning quite flat,
“Be careful with questions. They killed the poor cat.”
But that little proverb was missing a track—
For satisfaction soon brought that cat back.

So curiosity pounced, and it sniffed every clue.
It poked every puzzle and peered through the blue.
It chased every mystery, sniffed at every fact,
Then purred with delight as truth was tracked.

Curiosity fuels both our faith and our pen.
It nudges our thoughts again and again.
It whispers, “Search and dig deep. Be true.
There’s always a wonder waiting for you.”

A groove can be nice as you travel along,
A rhythm, a pattern, a writing-time song.
Beware of grooves that grows deeper each day—
For grooves without questions become ruts of clay.

So ask and keep asking. Explore every nook.
Your faith will grow. You can write a book.
For writers who wander with wonder intact
Will find that truth will come purring right back.