Unfinished Words

Coffee stains ring the page,

smudged ink drags where fingers hesitated.

Squares half-filled, some with letters

that don’t quite fit,

a jumble of thought paused mid-breath.

The puzzle curls at the edges,

a half-spoken secret left behind

in the clutter of spoons and napkins,

a small chaos frozen

between hurried sips and forgotten plans.

I trace the shaky lines—

a word started, then lost,

like a sentence that broke,

a thought dropped,

a pause that won’t let go.

Abandoned, but not quite empty,

the puzzle waits

for someone to finish

what was never finished.