Jigsaw

    (for Dorianne Laux)

If we re-cut the jigsaw puzzle,
we could find the place where the shoreline
slides along the woman's leg,
then nestle a perfect slice of blue skirt
into the distant waves,
discover that the dog's tail
does belong in the starry night after all,
and softly press the white paw
into part of the fallen fence.
We could see that only the moss-covered boulder
now fits where we thought the boy's head should be,
and at the end, on a rain-soaked street,
we could reach a hand into a grove of trees,
only to find the last piece of black sky
that has locked into the green
and won't go away.

Copyright © 2007 Ray Skjelbred All rights reserved
from Exit 13 Magazine
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission