The Missing Piece

It was a missing piece.
And it was not happy.


And as it rolled
It sang this song-
“Oh I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
Hi-dee-ho, here I go,
Lookin’ for my missin’ piece.”


Sometimes it backed in the sun


but then the cool rain would come down.


And sometimes it was frozen by the snow
but then the sun would come and warm it again.


And because it was missing a piece
it could not roll very fast
so it would stop
to talk to a worm


or smell a flower


and sometimes it would pass a beetle
and sometimes the beetle
would pass it


and this was the best time of all


And on it went,
over oceans
“Oh I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
over land and over seas
So grease my knees and fleece my bees
I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece”


through swamps and jungles


up mountains


and down mountains


Until one day, lo and behold!
“I’ve found my missin’ piece,” it sang,
“I’v found my missin’ piece
so grease my knees and fleece my bees
I’ve found my…”


“Wait a minute,” said the piece.
“before you go greasing your knees
and fleecing your bees…


“I am not your missing piece.
I am nobody’s piece.
I am my own piece.
And even if I was
somebody’s missing piece
I don’t think I’d be yours!”


“Oh, ” it said sadly,
“I’m sorry to have bothered you.”
And on it rolled.


It found another piece
but this one was too small.


And this one was too big.


this one was a little to sharp


and this one was too square.


One time it seemed
to have found
the perfect piece
but it didn’t hold it tightly enough


and lost it.