Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie

Ticky Tacky

Standing on the edge of forever
With a mist around my feet
I wish I could see tomorrow
Where we are the same, yet different.
Underneath our boxes made of ticky tacky
What hides there?
We are, by our very nature, nosy, curious.
We would like to know
what happens behind closed doors.
What are you thinking inside your tiny box?
Made from all your years.
Would you break out if you could
Surprise the world with what you do next?

© Anita Dawes 2021

For those of you unfamiliar with the expression Ticky Tacky, here is the song that made it famous…

and the lyrics…

Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes made of ticky tacky,
Little boxes on the hillside,
Little boxes all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses
All went to the university,
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same,
And there’s doctors and lawyers,
And business executives,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry,
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school,
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university,
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same.

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same.

By Malvina Reynolds