The music plays its notes so slow,
And the handle turns the surprise.
The air’s stillness is apropos,
But not excitement in your eyes.

Something clicks as you turn a note;
Your stomach sours and sickens.
You cringe, watching the lid explode
Like suicide bomber chickens.

The jack-in-the-box taunts us now;
We push his scabby head back in.
Someone winds him the first time loud;
They can’t help but do it again.

But sometimes some, after their shocks,
Forget to push the puppet in;
They’re scared by their jack-in-the-box,
For that is life, world with an end.