Jack in the Box by Colin O'Sullivan

Jack in the Box
by Colin O'Sullivan

Open it
go on
I dare you.

No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll pop out
just like that
exposed.

No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll sing you
a song
a grhyme.

No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll put you
all back together
again.

No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll blow you
blow you
blow your house down.

No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll huff and puff
spill all my good
stuff.
No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll spin you
round and round
at the ball.

No no no no
no surprises left.

Have you back
on your shelf
'fore it strikes twelve.

No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll climb all the way
to the top
of your stalk.

No no no no
no surprises left.

I'll push you right down
the hole
in the ground.

No no no no
no surprises left.

Open it
go on
I dare you.

No no no no.

Open it
go on
I dare you.
No no no no.

Open it.

No.

Open it.

No.

No no no no.

no
no
no
no

no surprises left.

Author bio:

Colin O'Sullivan has a short story collection entitled Anhedonia, and a novella entitled Majo, both published by Rain Publishing. In addition, he has had his work published in many print journals, inlcuding The Taj Mahal Review, The Cork Literary Review, Transition, Skive Magazine and Gator Springs Gazette. Online, you may peruse Colin's work at Carve, Pen Himalaya, Invisible Insurrection, Prose Toad, Ludlow Press, Thieves Jargon, Red Fez, LIT Vision, Whispers of Wickedness, VerbSap, Spoiled Ink, The Raging Face, Dublin Quarterly, Juked, Feathertale, Thuglit, Nefarious Muse, and Why Vandalism?. Colin was the winner of Verbsap's The Mind’s Eye Competition (short story) 2006