I threw my life on the ground and watched it shatter.
In a single moment everything, everything that I knew changed.
I raged, wept and futilely tried to put the pieces together.
I do not remember the moment I realized that my hands where cut and my blood dulled the once bright edges.
I put the shards down and backed away.
From a distance I could see the irrevocable change
But my hands still reached out.
Sheer force of will and the desire to heal stayed them time and time again.
Now a few scares stretch as my hands move once more towards the pieces.
Instead of seeking to replicate what once was, they nimbly dust and wash each;
Looking for the qualities that only it contains: a color, a shape or curvature.
Carefully I lay them out in the mud of this new life.
I am unsure how one piece will sit next to another: if the edges will combine to please the eye,
If the colors still compliment in this erratic new state.
But as each piece finds its place I see the whole better, I trust the wisdom of my hands.
It is not the piece I set out to make, not in its function or form
But it is stronger and more beautiful for the breaking.
AC 2012
David Halliday
01/16/2012 at 7:49 PM
very nice. the shattered look grabbed my attention. looks like a collage. i hate to say it but a little blood on it would have been very interesting.
Amanda Schwab
01/16/2012 at 9:45 PM
I wanted to find something mosaic like to go with the writing. I got the ides for the poem driving home from work. Its been one of those year and I finally feel like I’m come out of the fog and into something better.
vesselsandjourneys
01/16/2012 at 8:02 PM
Beautiful word images, and also a unique ‘plate’ image! Did you do the arrangement of the shards in the picture too? Your poem reminds me of the Hemingway quote “strong in the broken places”… well done!
Amanda Schwab
01/16/2012 at 9:43 PM
thanks, I didn’t do the picture. It’s been a while and I thought it might do me good to write a little.
Charlotte
01/16/2012 at 9:47 PM
Beautifully, quietly sadly identifiable in the most intimate of ways
Amanda Schwab
01/16/2012 at 9:51 PM
thank you.
katesense
02/21/2012 at 8:01 PM
Stunning poem.
Amanda Schwab
02/21/2012 at 10:01 PM
thanks, I knew that I was coming out of the last year when I no longer wanted to rage or morn but build instead. I’m glad that my words could share that with you.