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This writing was accepted for publication in the 84 page perfect-bound issue... Down in the Dirt magazine (v105) (the April 2012 Issue) You can also order this 5.5" x 8.5" issue as an ISSN# paperback book:

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Holding Your Leg

Donna Pucciani

The physical therapist wants
all the weight on the bad leg.
You need to re-grow the muscle
that disappeared as you limped
for five years bone-on-bone.

I help with the exercises.
You lie flat on your back
with ankle weights strapped on.
I hold the good leg to make sure
it is not doing the work.

I cradle it in my arms
like a newborn, a warm loaf of bread,
a favorite book, a spring bouquet,
folded laundry. It is not
swollen or red as the other,

that wounded animal trying so hard
to lift itself from the bed.
The specter of disintegration haunts us
in old age, with death waiting
just behind the scrim.

But now we perform, you and I,
counting repetitions and sets,
your brow furrowed against pain,
as if all this mattered, spotlit,
in the greater scheme of things.

The sunset appears
in crimson blush, embarrassed
by its own brevity but as proud
of its brilliance as you, lifting
your leg to feel new strength,

welcoming the strange metallic hip.
I hang on to the other, owning
its goodness for a few minutes,
praying for equilibrium
while night obscures tree, flower, sky.

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