the world is there,I
am here—
a puzzle-piece which doesn't
fit anywhere

I read a book once
it said— "To get ahead in life,you gotta break some eggs."
so I did

I cut my edges to take a different shape
to fit in a certain set
it hurt, but I wanted to get ahead
and so I broke some eggs

I fit in, slid in like I was
not a separate piece but
a part of the whole from
the very beginning

yet only then did I notice
that I was of a different colour
than the rest of the pieces

so I was kicked out
but I wasn't gonna give up

I plunged myself in
a paint can—
and assumed a different colour
I broke some eggs

I fit in perfectly
yet only then did I realize
that I was made
of a different material
than all the rest

I was kicked out
cut, drenched in alienness
wet, by the roadside gutter

only then did I see
a puzzle set
of the colour
of my hidden flesh
of the material
of my own bones
with a missing piece— the shape
of my old self

yet I was alien to them
to the whole world
to me

I broke myself