Amanda McLeod

Spare Parts for The Human Spirit

Spare parts for the human spirit
are not easy to come by.
                        
Life would be simplified
if we could only remove
the broken pieces of ourselves
and replace them with
newer, shinier versions
coated in titanium or sapphire
so they don’t wear out.

Instead, we pry off our
covers and peer into the depths
shaking our heads at the dust
and fragments that crunch
between our fingers, wondering
what value there is in this
mess.

But as we pull the pieces out
one by one, they start to make
sense, and we begin to rebuild 
what they once were.
                        
                                    It looks different.

Some pieces are gone forever,
ground away and carried
off by the wind. Others
Are worn at the edges and
don’t quite fit. 
As it all comes back together
even as a distorted version of what was
it starts to mean something.
And we begin to love the cracks
                        the missing pieces
As much as we loved the pristine original
and maybe even more.

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Amanda McLeod is an Australian author and artist with a penchant for good books and coffee. Her words can be read or are forthcoming in many places including The Cabinet Of Heed, Pussy Magic, andRhythm & Bones; and she is an assistant editor at Animal Heart Press. She loves the water and the quiet. Find her on Twitter @AmandaMWrites.