Empty Cube
Rafael Rodas Aguilar
Vanderbilt University
Abstract
“Empty Cube” was inspired by an empty exhibition at the Frist Art Museum. The poem simultaneously explores the scenes of a new wave of visitors arriving and the emotional impact that comes with being a misfit in a such prestigious environment.
Editor's Note: The first line of this piece also serves as its title, hence its presence in both locations.
Empty Cube,
Waiting.
Hoping
for something;
to be looked at
in awe,
admired,
loved-
Yet the days walked by
quickly, like every visitor disregarding
the empty box.
Waiting.
If you stop for just enough,
you can see the marks,
scars really,
of the theft,
of absolute horror.
Life flows only through the veins
on the side.
The spotlight
forever shifted.
Its melancholic guardian
relentlessly protects the cube,
the somber shadow
it casts at the royals’ feet.
Perpetually in search,
of what was stolen-
Hope.
No more of his devotion
can be taken away.
Pleading to the heavens that just for a second,
Someone!
Might for just a split second,
Someone?
Might look at the empty box,
and think,
not about what was there,
but what will one day come to be.
Scaffold: A Showcase of Vanderbilt First-Year Writing, Volume 5, Spring 2023
Scaffold is a digital collection of first-year writing curated by the Vanderbilt Writing Studio. To highlight the developing writing processes and learning experiences central to the growth of new college writers, the collection pairs each piece with a recorded reflection from its author. Visit Scaffold’s website to listen to the authors reflect, to learn more, and to tap into this collection as a resource for college students and instructors alike.
The copyright to this work rests with the author. Proper attribution required. Vanderbilt retains a non-exclusive right to distribute the work as part of this collection.