I finally understand why
everyone thought I cheated
when I worked the puzzles
without boxtops.

They thought
it could not be done;

They thought
that I turned the box over
for reference;

Because they could not do
what I can do...

For months at a time,
I solve puzzles,
throw the lids with the pictures
to the side;
Otherwise,
I am not challenged enough.

What they refused to accept,
to comprehend,
perhaps it was too much for them,
was that I needed the picture,
only sometimes I did lose it,
and sometimes I have never seen it,
but I needed the picture
to prove to these people,
these angry people,
the threatening,
to prove that I knew exactly
what I was doing.

Some people have borrowed my puzzles
and tried to solve them without the picture;
They can't do what I do.