you fell to the floor broken
and there for a while you stayed
because it took a whole lot of gathered
strength to raise your head again

and as you looked around, shattered
at all the bits and parts that made up you,
looking at one here
turning another one over there

the realization came 
that there were
multiple pieces you 
         didn’t 
     even 
remember

that you had no idea you had ever possessed,
talents, traits, skills, things such as these

and you were curious
--so you explored some of these
trying this pattern together here
testing out another over there

and when, over time, you put yourself
gently back together, piece by careful piece, 
you glanced in the looking glass 
and hardly recognized 
the face that was there
restored

you recognized a more ‘you’ version of you 
than you had ever imagined
made possible by the breaking 
of the person that you were

and this, while sometimes painful
has led to the formation 
of the person that you are

heather pound 2024

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash