A Thousand Broken Pieces Poem by Joseph D E Phillips

Dear grandmother,

your pottery
is immaculate,
the proportions
of each piece symmetrical.
Your designs flow
with such intricate beauty
that flowers wish to be them.
Kings and queens come
from far off lands
to buy them.
Oh, if only
I were born with such talent!



Dear grandaughter,

you must know
that I tossed out
a thousand bad pieces
just to make one
good one. Come see the flaws,
the broken pieces of failure!
If I have only taught you one thing,
dear, let it be this:
talent is not granted
at birth but born
from a thousand broken pieces.