The middle is too fat.
My neck is too thick.
My eyes are droopy.
The corners of my mouth curl down
I see this every day.
I cannot walk without support.
Slowly I tell my left leg
lift up, move forward a few inches
and it reluctanctly will do an inch.
I have a diagnosis that’s complicated.
Non pressure Hydrocephalus
There is no cure
but it sounds aristocratic, special, unusual
— it makes me feel unique
It’s not Alzeimer’s
not Parkinson’s
its the body I was born with
but worn out
resentful of my demands
after all my brain decided
it wanted a divorce from my body
and now
hurt and resentful
it tries to ignore me
but I still love it
still need it
has been with me since conception
within my mother’s womb
Thank you Mum for teaching me
to care for my body
how I dress it
how it appears to others
how it needs posture
loves to have a bath
loves to be fed and watered.
Some years ago there were gifts
and pleasures.
This body carried three children
and now
I have four grand-children.
I remember walks in the forest
my body taking me down
trails by fir and decidious trees
their perfume, their shade
their strong trunks and hidden roots
my body
walking
one foot in front
of the other
this body also went on a couple of cruises
down the Danube, Italy, Sweden
flew to London where it was born
It has been on protest marches
climbed mountains
swam in the River Thames
and Lake Huron
I love all those bodies
who cared for the land before I arrived
and who will care for as long
as their bodies live.
No comments:
Post a Comment