Missing Piece Poem by Jim Yerman

We lost a friend of ours today…and immediately…different people we became.
for none of us…no matter how we try…will ever be the same.

Our lives will never go back to the way they were
the way they used to be.
When I was young and we lost someone…
this is how my father explained it all to me:

He said every person is like a puzzle…a puzzle that's incomplete
because we're constantly adding pieces from everyone we meet.

We are happy when we find a piece that fits…
knowing…of all the pieces in our reservoir
that piece has found a place in the creation of who we are.

It saddens us when we realize
because of all the miles, together, we have crossed
that one piece to our puzzle is gone
and how forever…it is lost.

And there will forever be a mix of sadness and of happiness
that comes with reminiscing…
every time we gaze upon our puzzle
and see the piece that we are missing.

And we'll remember the exact time
different people we became…
And how in the moment that piece went missing
we will never be the same.