The Musical Box

In the dark space under the basement stairs, it seemed
too big to be a casket. A child's coffin,
we sometimes thought, although it weighed a ton.
Never polished, it always gleamed and gleamed.

We hardly noticed, inside the lid, the display
of almost naked nymphs whose gauzy veils
wafted so decently. There were too many other things,
beneath an inner glass lid, to claim our attention:
...