After I lost the use of my legs
I saw that people take things
like walking and dancing
as if they were harsh tap water
when they are milk and honey
In my casts I felt my legs
were drowning
unable to breathe under an ocean
of plaster,
I would talk to them, reassuring them
to the fact that they were still usable
I even sang them a lullaby once

When the casts were removed
my legs looked as if they were
shriveled from 80 years on a farm
but they were only the legs
of a mermaid
just learning how to walk
on dry land.