在艺术上，越简单的东西表达的往往越多，真理往往用简单的话语便能加以表达。
希尔弗斯坦以最简洁有味的线条和文字，阐释了一则有关 “完美” 与”缺憾” 的寓言，令人们思索无限。行进中的它，行进中的自己，好不容易追寻到那失落已久的一角，却无法与自己一同前行。该失望？该快乐？该守候？还是该继续前行？
它可能是你最快读完的一本书，但恐怕也是得花上一辈子咀嚼的一本书。
在谢尔之前，儿童诗歌都是充满甜蜜和梦幻的，但是从谢尔之后开始有了分界，有了睿智。他的作品不拘泥于礼节，有一种奇异的天真。他把儿童文学从花园和教室的局限扩展到了很多令人匪夷所思却又充满惊喜的新奇领域。他的绘本作品幽默温馨，简单朴实的插图和浅显的文字中，充满淡淡的人生讽刺与生活哲学。
这是一个耐人寻味的寓言，中心意思似乎很简单：有缺憾胜于完美。可是，为什么呢？你可以说因为有缺憾才有追求，也可以说因为缺憾从另一面看正是优点和机会，这要你自己去琢磨了。也许你一时说不清楚，但你不会不产生一种感想：完美是更可怕的缺憾，而缺憾倒往往是可爱的。一天，我和我5岁的女儿一起看这本《失落的一角》，这一只有缺憾的圆的故事把她迷住了，她一边看，一边笑个不停。第二天一早，她带着这本书去幼儿园，一心要和小伙伴们分享她的快乐。我知道，谢尔在她心中的地位从此不可动摇。—-知名学者 周国平
追求完美 尊重自然
缺失了一角而不快乐的他，要动身寻找他那失落的一角，他的这一举动，勾起了我许多的回忆——我曾经是一个在学习、生活、工作中追求完美的人，而且一直是在近乎固执地追求着。只见这失落的一角充满了信心和力量，为了自己的目标和信仰一路高歌，坚定不移地向前滚动着。一路上风吹日晒，经历坎坷，怎一个“艰苦”了得！因为缺失，他有机会欣赏美景，享受生活，从而度过一段美好时光。“希望——失望……”，就这样一次次地交替轮回，撞击着我们的自信，考验着我们的意志力，我的心随着他的喜悦而高兴，随着他的失望而唏嘘。啊！终于找到了！因为“完美无缺”，他充满了活力和动力，他开始飞速地前进着。但渐渐地，他发现美好的时光不再，愉悦的心情被繁忙的步伐拽得喘不过气来。他开始反思，学会放弃，学会尊重自然活在当下——在缺失中不仅仅追求完美还要享受生活，品味人生。
感谢谢尔，感谢曾给我过关心和帮助的人，更感谢那些曾经质疑和打击过我的人，正是有了你们毫不吝啬的参与，才使我的 生活变得更加丰富多彩，使我再次面对“路漫漫其修远兮，吾将上下而求索”的信念时，品味出了更多深刻而简约的味道……
遗失的美好
一些粗糙笨拙的线条，而不是绚烂精致的画面，一如我们的生活，真实而简陋，平淡而不完美。我们中的大多数人，在流淌的时光里匆忙的奋力向前游动，压抑的沉重欲望藏匿在水底，死死的拽住我们慌张的步伐，为了继续前进我们拼命的卸下那些我们以为可有可无的，转瞬即逝的过往，像马桶里的排泄物，短暂的轻松痛快过后，哗啦啦冲到时光的洪流里。我们来不及遗憾，感伤，还有如此多的欲望之角，等着填补那残缺的无法满足的生活。
欲望的藤蔓，早在无意识中，便深深地根植于心，不经意间，迅速蔓延开来。而生命的缺口，从那时便微微张开，随着年岁的生长，我们发育得越来越好，胃口越来越大，空虚越来越多，难以填补。为了满足更多，我们仅有的空间不断地舍弃那些早已厌倦的占据，去获取那尚未品尝过的新鲜。短暂的新鲜过后，却是更难以平衡的虚无。无法抑制的失落，令我们不断盲目的寻找。直到某一天，才发现，原来寻找的目的早已丢失在路旁。
或许，当我们累了，疲倦了，坐在路边休息的时候，才猛然惊觉，谢尔·希尔弗斯坦笔下那些恰巧经过我们的形状怪异的一角，是真正的美好。我们不经意间，所遗失的美好。
原文
The Missing Piece
-Shel Silverstein
It was missing a piece.
And it was not happy.
So it set off in search
of its missing piece.
And as it rolled
it sang this song –
“Oh, I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
Hi-dee-ho, here I go,
Lookin’ for my missin’ piece.”
Sometimes it baked in the sun
but then the cool rain would come down.
And sometimes it was frozen by the snow
but then the sun would come and warm it again.
And because it was missing a piece
it could not roll very fast
so it would stop
to talk to a worm
or smell a flower
and sometimes it would pass a beetle
and sometimes the beetle
would pass it
and this was the best time of all.
And on it went,
over oceans
“Oh I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
Over land and over seas
So grease my knees and fleece my bees
I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece.”
through swamps and jungles
up mountains
and down mountains
Until one day, lo and behold!
“I’ve found my missin’ piece,” it sang,
“I’ve found my missin’ piece
So grease my knees and fleece my bees
I’ve found my…”
"Wait a minute," said the piece.
"Before you go greasing your knees
And fleecing your bees...
"I am not your missing piece.
I am nobody's piece.
I am my own piece.
And even if I was
somebody's missing piece
I don't think I'd be yours!"
"Oh," it sang sadly,
"I'm sorry to have bothered you."
And on it rolled.
It found another piece
but this one was too small.
And this one was too big
this one was a little too sharp
and this one was too square.
One time it seemed
to have found
the perfect piece
but it didn’t hold tightly enough
and lost it.
Another time
it held too tightly
and it broke.
So on and on it rolled,
having adventures
falling into holes
and bumbing into stone walls.
And then one day it came upon
another piece that seemed
to be just right.
“Hi,” it said.
“Hi,” said the piece.
“Are you anybody else’s missing piece?”
“Not that I know of.”
“Well, maybe you want to be your own piece?”
“I can be someone else’s and still be my own.”
“Well, maybe you don’t want to be mine.”
“Maybe I do.”
“Maybe we won’t fit….”
“Well…”
“Hummm?”
“Ummmm!”
It fit!
It fit perfectly!
At last! At last!
And away it rolled
and because it was
now complete,
it rolled faster
and faster.
Faster than it had
ever rolled before!
So fast that it could not stop
to talk to a worm
or smell a flower
too fast for a butterfly to land.
But it could sing it’s happy song,
at last it could sing
“I’ve found my missing piece.”
And it began to sing-
“I’ve frown my nizzin’ geez
Uf vroun my mitzin’ brees
So krease ny meas
An bleez ny drees
Uf frown…”
Oh my, now that
it was complete
it could not sing at all.
“Aha,” it thought.
“So that’s how it is!”
So it stopped rolling…
and it set the piece down gently,
and slowly rolled away
and as it rolled it softly sang-
“Oh I’m lookin’ for my missin’ piece
I’m looking for my missin’ piece
Hi-dee-ho, here I go,
Lookin’ for my missin’ piece.”
不完美才是最完美
因为，也许我们在为了目的行走的路上，经历的风景是如此美好又奇妙，不知不觉中很多东西已经改变，当最后只享受生命的快乐而忘记目的的时候，结局已经不在重要，不是么？