The power of nagging doubts
sometimes blasts me flat on deriere
with the force of a gushing fire hose.
More often it crunches and knaws
like a corps of termites,
dining on my hopes and plans,
turning some to dust.

And then it's bound to meet
a core of ironwood so strong
they're stopped in time, before
they can mature into beliefs
that I can't get up, or worse,
that living and playing
in the sawdust is enough.

I can banish their illusions
and refortify the walls, but
confidence crumbles over
again from mockin...

Two pieces of a large jigsaw puzzle that look
like we fit together, but
no matter how we turn around,
we don't.  Off we go to work
on the big picture.  Then,
we assess the shapes again.

We're cut from a similar part
of the scene in color and texture.
Yet, when held against each other,
shades of differences are clear.

Instead of searching harder for
our congruent places, we return
to the impossible effort, refusing
to accept that our characteristics
truly repel each other.

The habit constantly resurrects and...