This was meant to be something else entirely. I’ve been watching some of Bindi Irwin’s dance routines from dancing with the stars. I don’t normally watch the show, but I’ve been cheering her on from the beginning. She’s such a wonderfully positive person, and I guess I was inspired by her.

Hold/These Arms

These are my arms
Every freckle, every scar
The heel of my hand
Bony, creased and wrinkled
These hands have been
Sanded down by desktops.
See the blue veins,
The purple, the red
Several tiny waterfalls
Sliding down
The pulse of my wrist

Further down
And inside
The skin is pale
A flick of the wrist
Some hair
And more freckles
These ones burned on
By the sun

These arms are thin
And always moving
Weakened by heavy loads,
Low blood sugar
And the flu.

Hold a candle to them
They burn
Hold a lamp
And the skin lightens
But put them up
Against life’s little troubles:
A broken down car, a
Sickness, a work drama

And show me someone
Who is suffering
And these arms will fold,
Beat back
and hold up the world
So they can rise above it