Pieces

“Pieces”

I find you sometimes

In a book I’ve read

That certain flavor of bubblegum

A lemon’s zing

You lurk in corners

So easy to forget, to misplace

But I find you at the bottom of my purse

In that perfect shade of lipstick

The broken compact

A crumpled receipt with “Hello” scribbled on the back

I often find you

In the shower’s steam

Drawing hearts and funny faces

In the fogged glass

The smell of shampoo

The scrape of a razor and its silken aftermath

You hide in closets, shelves, drawers

Just waiting for me to find you

A picture taken long ago

That same face, fuller, rounder

Pink with sunburn

Smiling

For a moment, I have you

And then you slip away

Sometimes I find you

In the eyes of someone else

Blue-green, so different

But it’s enough to make me believe

I can finally hold you forever

Slowly, you fade

I hardly realize you’re gone

Until I start finding the pieces again

A mermaid’s fins

A strand of pearls, a coffee cup

And I’m left standing in the middle of some room

Some place

With the certainty that something’s missing