Magic Box

© Matthew Word Bain

sometimes small towns harbor keepsakes
and on occasion even leave them out on display
this camera shop became a camera museum decades ago
and this unit proudly remains accessible to passersby
although I wouldn’t drop any film in there if I were you
as I don’t believe development is available anymore
but take a moment to admire the brushed metal
and engraved instructions, and imagine
how it might have felt to deposit film here
and wait for the call to let you know it was done
and that singular delight of seeing for the first time
the images you had recorded with light on film
now printed out on paper for you to share
something not unlike magic, every single time