Saturday, January 2, 2010

Jigsaw Puzzle

She sat at the table
—all the pieces laid out in front of her
trying to determine
which one didn’t fit.

Why? Why? Why?

the question pecked at her
like the drip drip drip
of Chinese water torture.

She started with temper:
everyone mentioned that.

She smiled, recalling
the shock of those
who did not heed
the puff of smoke.

She put her temper back.

Next, she picked up intelligence –
which frightened and intimidated most.

However…

intelligence gave her
treasured experiences;
hearty laughter;
and true love.

She put her genius back.

Perhaps it was her taste for vengeance.
Oh, how she loved to dance on graves.

That was too much fun.
She put tenacity back.

Staring at the pieces left,
she held close to her heart
the one
she hoped
was not
“it.”

Her compassion for others had left her unsettled.

“Love me as I am or love me not!”
she declared,
putting the past
back in its place.

Faster and faster
she sorted through the pieces
the “why why why” dripping louder and louder.

intractable stubbornness;
cruel wit;
odd sense of humor;
fondness for expletives;
skin like rice paper.

Which one? Which one WAS IT?

Which one of these pieces
all her favorites
which one made her not fit?

Spent, all the pieces back in place,
she finally considered:

perhaps the problem lie
in other puzzles.

1 comment:

  1. Wow! I seriously relate to most of these, but especially to this one. Nicely written!

    ReplyDelete