To Make The Pieces All Fit In Poem by Susan Lacovara

Dawn's a single mother, with struggles, now her own
It's been five long years of widow' s work
To mend her broken home
A chore, to stretch her monthly budget,
With five hungry mouths to feed,
In the wee small hours, while children dream
She fall unto her knees...

And she cries, oh yes, she cries...
And few can sympathize,
While she tries to make the pieces
All fit in...

Karen cuts pink roses, from her garden, everyday
She's on her second round of chemo...
But the cancer' s not going way...
Beneath her floral headscarf,
no trace left, her flowing mane...
While the sun streams on her roses,
Her heart sinks, in pouring rain

And she hides, oh yes, she hides
What she somedays, still, denies...
While she tries to make the pieces
All fit in...

Juan writes another resume, on a page of promise, white...
He's used to work the graveyard shift,
Now he barely sleeps at night...
It's been eighteen months, after eighteen years,
A victim of 'downsize'
As the unpaid bills, stare back at him...
He feels so paralyzed...

And he lies, oh yes, he lies
So his wife won't realize
While he tries to make the pieces
All fit in...

Dan thinks of graduation, degree within his grasp..
Swallows pride, and takes a pain pill,
And a quick sip, from his flask...
Amid the building pressure, with no way to vent his fear
The expense of education, he can't afford,
this year...

So he sighs, oh yes, he sighs...
And he shuts his nearsighted eyes,
While he tries to make the pieces
All fit in...

Susan sits, and counts her day, stacks then into tiers
Used to have poet's plan
Put on hold these last six years...
Watches dancers, with their perfect poise
She, unsteady, in her gait
Imagines someone showing up, but sadly, not of late...

And time flies, oh yes it flies...
And with the full moon in her eyes
She tries to make the pieces
All Fit in...

Life's ongoing puzzle, laid out on a table
Complete the frame, with corners...
find them, if you're able...
To border the perfectly pictured place
Seems daunting, to begin...
While you try to make the pieces
All fit in....