"Story Boxes," like its predecessor "Little Boxes," showcases a unique style of poetry in which each poem is a short story told in only 100 syllables. One hundred poems, ten thousand syllables. The subjects include Americana, men attempting to understand women, the point-of-view of kids, philosophy, corporate life, nature, dreams, coffee and cafés, words and writing. Once again, the full spectrum. Also with the variety of subjects come a variety of moods. As with "Little Boxes," many of the poems are humorous, some are self-reflective, and all of them are commentaries on contemporary life.The poems are called "box poems" because they are constructed of 10 lines with each line having exactly 10 syllables. They are written in the style of poetry referred to as "syllable poetry," which includes such traditional forms as the Japanese haiku and the American cinquain. One of the chief reasons for using this form (or any other poetry form) is that the "limitations of form" boost the creative process. Poets use form for two reasons. One is aesthetic. The other is the impact that form has on the creative process. A nine-syllable line, for example, might seem perfect; but if the form demands a ten-syllable line, then the poet has to work harder to achieve it. Typically, the extra effort makes the poem better than it would have been otherwise.Here is an example from the collection:It's like you want to hide in a closet,just you, a few good books, and a close friend.You could manage fine with a flashlight, butyour friend has a thousand watts in his heart,and for the first time you begin to thinkyou might be better off blind and alone.The fear is that there will be nothing left, that you will be consumed and disappear.Fear does that. It causes us to forgethow simple it is to open a door.