2007 IATE Poetry and Prose Contest
Poems of Special Merit
Mariel McAleer
Edgewood Middle School , Grade 6
Highland Park, Illinois
Teacher, Sheila Fitzsimmons
The Missing Piece
the cherry on top
the dot on the “i”
the icing on the cake
the toppings on the pie
the one who brightens up
the gloomy weather
the glue that sticks
my life together
a friend, a thing,
a brick in the wall
the tiny detail is cherished
to me, and to all
the spot on the pup
the whisker on the kitten
the complicated stitch
on that warm woolen mitten
the one who reminds me
I’m as strong as a lion
the one that tells me
I’m a bird that’s always flyin’
the petal on the flower
the branch on the tree
the green in the grass
the wave in the sea
the one who is there
when my eyes are weepin’
the one who is happy
when my smiles are seepin’
the people I love
through every heartbeat
the missing piece
that makes me complete