“My Friend, the Wall,” Draft Five,
David-Michael Allen
Kansas City Kansas, USA
My friend, the wall,
Or any vertical surface
Stable enough to support my head,
While my hands retrieve my shorts, my slacks,
My fingers shove in my shirt, and close up my fly.
I have other friends,
Count my cane among them.
This four-footed friend cannot help,
Though, when I need two hands.
My kitchen counter,
Like my friend, the wall, then,
Provides the edge I need, while
My hands prepare my meals, and, then,
They wash my dishes.
I have other friends:
They let me lean against them,
When my legs, my heart, my hope
Cannot, at times, sustain me.
Can I ever stand alone, then?
I fell, and failed, the times I tried.
4/30/2010