when i was strong

i leave a trail of burnt coffee
and bones broken inside,
wrapped in scarves.
the colors covering what
was once carved in calf when
i was strong.

a woman warrior, amazon
stripes of mud lined my ankles,
feet flew swift, a
blur of faster than you can
catch because out there,
there, i was it. playing tag
with the breeze,
unflustered, a storm of
brain heart and body,
going somewhere.
strong.

now i’m going nowhere fast--
wincing with each stride,
feeling no more strength
than the weakness of my bones,
the failure of my body.

today is still like a broken dawn,
time stopped due to lack of motion,
a frozen picture in the past,
in medias res,
and now i am lost in a maze of words
with nowhere to run, and no way to run.

i miss my legs like i used to miss love,
someone to stroke my hair in the morning,
someone who knew how to tell me it was
alright. i was my own answer: my own feet
to cry on, my own portrait of strength.

needless.
when i was strong.

dls