My life is a jigsaw puzzle
with pieces missing
Most people I have seen
have their pieces neatly organized
into a wall around their hearts
They’ve been building this
3-D jigsaw puzzle wall
since childhood
Their pieces all come
from the original box
So it is not difficult to just
match the pieces to the picture
on the cover
But my jigsaw puzzle
came in a clear
Zip-loc bag
With only my name
inscribed in Sharpee
on the plastic
The pieces were just thrown in there
With no picture
or instruction manual to
make reference to
The pieces are in poor condition
Chewed ripped torn wet and dirty
and probably having a million other defects I cannot name Making them impossible to trade
Let alone make sense of
But it was trying to barter
my jigsaw puzzle life away
That I learned the truth
there are others out there
Who have random jigsaw puzzle pieces
That aren’t quite perfect
And we get so caught up
obsessive-compulsively trying to fit
every piece to the other
That we forget that the world is not in a bag
And that we’re better off
without those 3-D walls around our hearts
And when you learn that
You can finally throw your own Zip-loc bag away
And go play outside.
