Puzzle from Hell

have you ever worked on a jigsaw puzzle for so long

that your eyes start to blur

and all the colors start to melt?

you’re absolutely sure that this piece

joins with that one

concave curve matching


my green shading into

his blue.

so you try to lock the two together

jamming them fused

bending both out of shape

almost crying with frustration.

until you remember that this is a double-sided

mirror-reversed-90 degree turned-puzzle from hell

and they belong on opposite sides.


M.A. Mohanraj

August 16, 1993