The Most Vital Piece

Before you lays pieces of a jigsaw puzzle,

Split into millions of pieces.

And it is up to you alone,

To put the pieces all together.

 

You struggle at first,

Not even having a picture to look at.

For there is no box to reference,

Only that which is in your head.

 

You find the edges,

And you start from there.

But you know this is only the beginning,

And you are nowhere near the end.

 

You mess up as you go along,

You are forced to start all over.

But do not give up hope.

Have patience till the very end.

 

For everything in life begins with mistakes.

Through mistakes we learn.

We learn in order to prevent future mistakes,

So that we may succeed in what we strive for.

 

You get back on track,

You see new possibilities before you.

But becareful not to rush into these ideas,

Before clearly planning out your steps.

 

A few days turn to months,

And months into years.

Yet still you labor on,

Wishing there was someone there to help.

 

But at times you are not alone,

For friends stay by you to help.

Hoping you will reach the end,

So that you may move on to something else.

 

Then you look down at what you have done,

And see that only two pieces remain.

Your spirits run high.

It seems you are at the end.

 

You reach without looking,

And grab for one of the last pieces.

You lift it up in front of you,

And place it where it need be.

 

Then you grab for the last piece of the puzzle,

Only to grab the carpet you sit on.

You look where the pile of pieces had been,

And see no other piece around.

 

You search all around the room,

And yet it is nowhere to be found.

You think back during all that labor,

And see if it was lost along the way.

 

Then you finally look at the puzzle,

And truly see what the picture is.

For what you see is no winter pasture

Nor a field of sunflowers.

 

Rather it is your very heart,

Full of all the struggles you have went through.

Not just while you worked on the puzzle,

But through every day life as well.

 

There it hits you.

The key piece of information you have been looking for.

You now know where it is,

The last piece of the puzzle.

 

For it is with "her,"

The one friend who helped the most.

The one you had been admiring from afar,

And dared not approach.

 

She had come one day to help you with the puzzle,

That day she bore bad news.

For she was moving away.

And she too had been admiring you.

 

But you were too shy,

And too focused on the puzzle.

She has given up waiting for you,

And sees it is time for her to go.

 

You gave her a piece from the pile,

As a token to remember you by.

She returned the favor,

With a kiss for good bye.

 

Now you stand there alone,

A tear forming in your eye.

For that piece would always be with her,

The puzzle's most vital piece.

Reviews

[Kara]

Wow..I love this poem. So descriptive, and yet captivating, it draws you in through every line, until you reach the end. You did a great job with imagery, and yet captured an emotion. Wonderfully done.