Rubik's Cube

I:
Rubik's marvellous, eponymous Cube:
symbol of the 1980s
and best known puzzle in the world.
I decided to buy one and try one
to better learn the virtue of patience.
I can now go three whole minutes without swearing at it.
(That's quite a good improvement.)

II:
Little coloured squares on larger square faces -
constantly twisting and turning,
changing and contorting,
and yet never quite aligning.
You sometimes sense the solution in your grasp,
solid and sturdy, like the cube itself,
only for it to slip away again
after one sharp, ill-judged move.

Life feels like that sometimes.
You have all the pieces, all the little squares,
and yet, they never quite line up.
Something will always stand out.
Something will never fit in.

You'll feel frightened and frustrated,
as if you're falling, slipping and sliding
in every possible direction
just to find some meaning or conclusion...
and yet every move just brings more perplexity.
Career, love, personality, progress -
different aspects, different places,
like the cube's six faces,
all blended together
into one huge challenge
that you'll spend your entire life sorting out.

You mustn't let it beat you.
Yes, it's true -
a puzzle is meant to challenge you,
but you're meant to have fun, too.
Try not to get too lost.
Take it on one side at a time, if you must.
Focus on the little things
that make up the big ones:
your best friend's smile, your favourite song,
that special place you love to visit.
Think about life too much and you'll miss it.

Let the squares sort out their own face.
Instead, enjoy the time and space
that fate has given you as your place.