The moment the crutch slipped
The world tilted
I noticed that the floor tile by the kitchen sink is cracked as
I hung, suspended
While the crutch clattered to the floor.
I hugged the edge of the sink with my right elbow
Propped up on my left crutch like a one legged flamingo
Ready to take flight
Dangling
Wrangling in my head
Whether to take a hop forward
Whether to inch along the edge of the sink
Toward my fallen comrade
This crutch I so lovingly embrace
Beneath my arm
My intimate companion
This is not our first falling out
Or our harshest
Dangling
I inch forward and reach
The tips of the fingers on my right hand
Barely touch the crutch.
Forward ever forward
My elbow hits a half full cup of coffee in the sink
It topples to the floor, rolls and stops near my crutch
Spewing its brown liquid across my path
Forming into the shape of Lake Michigan
Across my kitchen floor
I want to dive
Dangling still dangling
Yet closer
I reach and grab my errant friend
This so called crutch and
Bowing ever so slightly
I set it under my right arm
I rise
A phoenix
From the ashen gray morning light
Then fly over the lake
In one giant leap
As I head down the hallway
Toward the rest of my day.
Copyright 2007 Ruth Harrigan
