Sip the Tea

Cat and Teacup Vintage Victorian Jigsaw Puzzle by antiqueart

Let’s set out our next jigsaw adventure

on the lonely dried-out table that waits

for us to turn on lights and bring our tea.

Just you and me, baby.  Today, it’s just

you and me, so we won’t finish, but

we can start sorting pieces with our hearts.

Dad said Don’t put the cart before the horse,

remember?  But we always did, bustling

like Little Red Hens, doing six jobs each.

Why go it alone when, look: The number 

of pieces shows the possibility

of community!  If we only wait.  

Let’s turn the pieces right side up, then sit.

Let’s stir honey into our tea, let it

cool a bit.  Mint for you, ginger for me.

How jigsaws are like life, like trust among

family.  Two steps forward and one back,

a home emerges—and maturity.

Our towering years raise us up to see

the patterns throughout our story.  Some was

planned, I won’t say it was all hit and miss—

But did we know our jigsaw lives would look

like this?  The box had no cover art, and

which of us would care to paint the end?

So let’s wait awhile.  Let's not make all the cake

and eat it too. Let the horse pull the cart. It will,

you’ll see.  Let’s wait right here and sip our tea.

My blog poems are rough drafts.

Please respect my copyright. 

© 2019 Susan L. Chast