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missing piece

fizzygirl

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 21, 2000
Messages
7,818
okay....i LOVE shel silverstein...and i doubt theres anyway i'd be able to get all of you to go buy this book, so i'm putting the words here. This one, along with the original "The missing piece" are great little relationship metaphors.
it is so much less without the illustrations (the missing piece looks like a wedge, what it's looking for like a pac-man), but the meaning is still there...
"The Missing Piece meets the Big O"
The missing piece sat alone...
waiting for someone to come along
and take it somewhere.
Some fit...but could not roll.
Others could roll but did not fit.
One didn't know a thing about fitting.
And another didn't know a thing about anything.
One was too delicate. (pop!)
One put it on a pedestal...
and left it there.
Some had too many pieces missing.
Some had too many pieces, period.
It learned to hide from the hungry ones.
More came.
Some looked too closely.
Others rolled right by without noticing (hi..?)
It tried to make itself more attractive...
It didn't help.
It tried being flashy
but that just frightened away the shy ones.
At last one came along that fit just right.
(happy rolling along illustrations)
But all of a sudden...
the missing piece began to grow!
And grow!
"I didn't know you were going to grow."
"I didn't know either," said the missing piece.
bye...
"I'm looking for my missin' piece, one that won't increase..."
(separation)
sigh..
And then one day,
one came along who looked different.
"What do you want of me?" asked the missing piece.
"Nothing."
"What do you need from me?"
"Nothing."
"Who are you?" asked the missing piece.
"I am the Big O," said the Big O.
"I think you are the one I have been waiting for," said the missing piece. "Maybe I am your missing piece."
"But I am not missing a piece," said the Big O. "There is no place you would fit."
"That is too bad," said the missing piece. "I was hoping that perhaps I could roll with you..."
"You cannot roll with me," said the Big O, "but perhaps you can roll by yourself."
"By myself? A missing piece cannot roll by itself."
"Have you ever tried?" asked the Big O.
"But I have sharp corners," said the missing piece. "I am not shaped for rolling."
"Corners wear off," said the Big O, "and shapes change. Anyhow, I must say good-bye. Perhaps we will meet again..."
And away it rolled.
The missing piece was alone again.
For a long time it just sat there.
Then...
slowly...
it lifted itself up on one end...
and flopped over. (plop!)
Then lift...pull...flop...
it began to move foward...
And soon its edges began to wear off...
liftpullflopliftpullflop...
and it's shape began to change...
and then it was bumping instead of flopping...
and then it was bouncing instead of bumping...
and then it was rolling instead of bouncing...
And it didn't know where
and it didn't care.
It was rolling!
(you see the new O meeting up and rolling along side the Big O)
:)
 
Wonderful Miss Fizz!! Thank you for posting this. He always has a way of saying things that brings me close to laughter and tears at the same time. And I'm not a bit surprised that you see the beauty in it as well. You amaze me girl, constantly. :)
 
Thanks for posting this, Fizzy :) I got "Falling Up" as a college graduation present a few years ago, which reminded me of how much I liked Shel Silverstein. It's nice to see this poem here :)
 
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