Paper Cartons

saw a man,
looking for, seeing none
a home on an empty street.
all he had, all it was,
a paper carton, holed and brown.
dinner table, house, and bed,
it was all he had, and it was all it was.
a paper carton, tattered and torn.

saw a kid,
eyes full of wonder, mind raging,
imagination in his laughter.
But all he had, and all it will ever be,
a paper carton, big and new.
a spaceship, a car, a boat if he wished.
yet all it was, and all it is to me,
a paper carton