What Is Broken

By Kevin Clothier

A china cup from your Mother’s collection
fell on the floor this morning.
One careless swipe of the duster
and a world held in memory
shattered at your feet.

So you scooped up pieces,
colored gold, ivory, azure, and rose,
wrapped them in a dish towel
and smashed them
against the porch steps.

Through the day I thought
About what you did,
Why such anger over
something so small ?

But arriving home from work,
I entered the house to find
a small mosaic set on an old kitchen tile,
of a gold stemmed rose
unfolding under a pale blue sky.
Then I understood something
you must have known all along,

that only what is broken
has the chance to become
something wholly new in this world.