"Break"
We put the puzzle together piece
by piece, loving how one curved
notch fits so sweetly with another.
A yellow smudge becomes
the brush of a broom, and two blue arms
fill in the last of the sky.
We patch together porch swings and autumn
trees, matching gold to gold. We hold
the eyes of deer in our palms, a pair
of brown shoes. We do this as the child
circles her room, impatient
with her blossoming, tired
of the neat house, the made bed,
the good food. We let her brood
as we shuffle through the pieces,
setting each one into place with a satisfied
tap, our backs turned for a few hours
to a world that is crumbling, a sky
that is falling, the pieces
we are required to return to.
—Dorianne Laux
The "Inception" idea...the dream within the dream. Seeing a life pieced together makes you think about yours...and the person doing the piecing. As the person doing the puzzle they work through the pieces of their lives, "choosing" each piece carefully and meticulously, yet, in the end...as I mentioned in my poem- someone else has already created the puzzle.
ReplyDeleteDo we have a choice in life to really "choose" or are we just already piecing together genetic beginnings and love-induced endings?
I can relate with these metaphors. The interprtations of the girl in the room being impatient and unsatisfied. Feeling that the world is going in the wrong direction. And having to return to it because the vacation has to end.
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