lost and found

lost...
misplaced long ago
set aside and forgotten
only not quite...

one day I need it
and it isn't there
not keys or a wallet
nothing so insignificant

I dig and tear through everything
trying to remember when last I saw it
I seem to recall...nah, not there
wait a minute...damn it
not there either...
now where did I leave it?

I start looking in places I've already looked
the most logical places, where it should be
searching and re-searching...
with no luck

then one day
when I least expect it
there it is!
like the name of an actor in some movie
or a long since forgotten song title
and I smile at serendipity (you have to smile)

there it is...
and right where I left it
exactly where it should be
tucked safely away in my soul...
it's the heart I walked away from
gave up on, left for dead
(like a Timex, it never stopped beating)
damn, why didn't I look there earlier
soul-searching is dirty, hard work

as much as I hate to use a cliche
it's always in the last place I look...sigh