From Puzzle to Picture

There were hundreds of pieces

Of varying size

But no picture to guide me,

That I truly despised.

How was I to fix this puzzle?

This was not even practical,

At least show me a picture

And that would be reasonable.

“There are guidelines there,”

An inner voice assured,

“The diversity of the pieces:

That is your open door.

If they were all alike

Would that have helped?”

Of course not I responded

And at least better I felt.

Of course I was having a chat

With that voice within me

And I dare say to all

That was no sign of insanity.

In my relaxed frame of mind

I searched for the corners

Then put the border together

To frame the picture.

Then I saw eyes and noses

A hairline then two

And then faces were formed

I found my working crew.

From puzzle to picture

It was beginning to form:

A community of working people

Just like the everyday norm.

The nurse and the police

The postman and the cleaner,

These and other community workers

Were all there in my picture.

  

There were children too

And mothers with infants in arms

And going about their daily business

Added to the overall charm.

The puzzle was almost complete

Just a dozen more pieces or so

From puzzle to picture, O yes!

With no picture at first to show.

Quite daunting at the beginning

Most satisfying in the end,

Like the challenges we face in life

And the daily effort we expend.

Nothing is more satisfying

Than a puzzle we have unraveled,

Particularly when at the beginning

It was truly a daunting puzzle.

The pieces were so out of place

As though they all were wrong

But when I got the workers together

I saw where each piece belonged.

If all our workers get together

And play their individual roles

Our puzzle would become a picture,

There would be no gaping holes.

Don’t hanker after another’s role

With yours do the best you can

Be a piece the puzzle can’t do without

Be a part of the master plan!

Stewart Russell © March 2019