i'm about to finish a puzzle,
completing a portrait
to give me peace.
when the puzzle,
I soon find,
is broken;
there's a spot
with a missing piece.

the whole picture seems ruined
by the hole,
the hole
where something should be.
incompleteness
that once was masked
is now apparent
for all to see.

I open up the box
and find its contents
have been taken.
the piece that has been stolen
left the puzzle with no ending.
I draw out a replacement
as perfect as I can imagine,
but the hollow representation
cannot match
what once was.

I retrace all the steps I took
to get me to this point.
each puzzle piece which I had put
in order to make it work.
the last of all,
the one needed,
the one to complete me,
was given to the one who
needed it more
than I could give.

she has my final puzzle piece
and I have hers as well,
and I would gladly hand it over
time and time again.

she has my missing puzzle piece
and I have hers as well.
neither of our portraits can be complete
without the other's help.
and though this makes it difficult
to carry on as before,
I find the best puzzles require
more than just oneself.

[ARH]

You were the sword
I needed for protection
But I guess I was holding on
To the wrong end
And I guess I held on
A little too tightly
Because before I knew it
You had cut me off

{NR}

You always commented
About how you hated those branches
When they swayed so lightly
But you couldn't feel a breeze
You lamented and ranted
About the sprinklers
That you couldn't run through
On a hot summer day
You hated to hear talking
Without hearing words
In your mind
It was like life walking
Right past you
But not letting you along
And now you're gone
It's like you were my sunshine
But you've taken away the warmth

{NR}

I never looked at you
When you were frowning
I didn't want to see you angry
Especially not at me.
I like to fake everything
Pretend we were happy
As a child I often
Played make-believe.
I lived for those moments
(I'd live for them still)
Where your eyes lit up
As soon as they met mine
But that was always
All too fleeting
The joy so quick
To be left behind

But still
I never looked at you
When you were frowning
And lately
I can't look at you at all

{NR}

our love is my daily coffee
the first thing i look forward to
in the mornings.

the only difference
is that i can't add sugar
when our love is bitter,
and you've always had a thing
for liking your coffee black.

I used to cringe at the sight of
broken glass
It reminded me of all my pieces
With their sharpened edges, crooked lines
always
Fragmented beyond reason

I'd step around it, carefully
watching
Not wanting to get caught
Because once you've drawn that
first blood
It's not easily forgot

I still remember the day you came
and so easily
You taught me how to polish my shards
From violent knives always
glistening
To something not quite as harsh

I used to cringe at the sight of
broken glass
It reminded me of all my pieces
But now i move it out of the way
to protect those
Who don't know the strength in their weakness.

You say you're proud you're clean today
Yet you go back to your old ways
I look at you and see it's a reflection
Of my selfish days and
I realize it's me who's changed
There's two of us inside my head
Fighting for the chance to live
A wolf inside of my own brain
No wonder it's so difficult
This war within my mind I wage
No wonder I can't even think
Straight when the two halves of my heart Decide to break apart and
All I'm left with is the broken parts
Lying on the asphalt
Freeway crashes in my head
Locomotives in my brain
Is it my thoughts or is it a migraine
It's all the same
I'm on a train
Going no specific place
Failing
Derailing
I desperately want it to be a dream
Maybe if I stop thinking
It will all just go away
Drown my thoughts with mindless
Music so I lose track of the pain
Understand
My motives aren't insane
They're just a little out of place
I look at my reflection
I can't even recognize the face
Time to make amends
Attempt to fix the broken things
Shattered pieces vaguely
Remind me of all the times my wings
Failed me
I need somebody to save
We can get a little crazed
When we don't know when to stop
And I will crack open Pandora's box
And let the contents out
Right about the hour that I find the clock
has lost it's power
Sour consciousness distracts me from the task that is at hand
Focus on the destination
And enjoy the journey
It will never go as planned
But we can plan to make it worth it

[ARH]