Pieces

Pieces

A glass slips through our fingers
Time seems to slow down
As we watch it fall
Hit the floor
And shatter into
A thousand pieces

If we are lucky
It is empty
But most often
This is not the case

We spend the next few moments
Standing in shock
And quickly assessing the damage
Then finally with acceptance
We begin the process
To clean up

No matter our diligence
No matter how many times
We survey the area
We are left sometimes to discover
A remaining shard
With our foot
In the middle of the night
Often in the dark

Sometimes pieces are simply
Left behind

Sarah sits alone at her dining room table
A table that is covered with documents
Pieces of a special life
A life that is no longer
Five years ago
She lost her husband
To cancer
Two years ago
Her daughter was killed in an auto accident
And now
Three days ago
Her granddaughter lost her life
To an accidental overdose
Of pills

Sarah sits alone at the table
And listens
As her great granddaughter plays
In her bedroom close by

I’m seventy-three
She says softly to herself
Please God
Give me the strength
To raise her right

Yes
A life breaks
We spend the next few moments
In shock

Time slows down
Sometimes hours
Sometimes days
And sometimes years

We again we find ourselves surrounded by pieces
Pieces we can not discard
Or simply toss away
These are pieces that can not be
Left behind

No matter how painful
We stop everything in our lives
And in the middle of the night
Often find ourselves asking
How are we ever going to put these priceless pieces
Back together

Ed Roberts 8/30/14