bystander. Listener. One of the lucky

I touch my toes. 

 

When I was a child, 

this was difficult. 

Now I touch my toes daily. 

 

In 2012, in Sanford, Florida, 

someone nearby was touching her toes before bed. 

 

Three weeks ago, 

in the Philippines or Myanmar, someone was stretching. 

 

Tomorrow, someone elsewhere will bend 

first to one side, then the other. 

 

I also do ten push-ups, morning and evening. 

 

Women's push-ups, 

from the knees. 

They resemble certain forms of religious bowing. 

 

In place of one, two, four, seven, 

I count the names of incomprehension: Sanford, Ferguson,
Charleston. 

Aleppo, Sarajevo, Nagasaki. 

 

I never reach: Troy, Ur. 

 

I have done this for years now. 

Bystander. Listener. One of the lucky. 

I do not seem to grow stronger. 

 

[Jane Hirshfield {1953- } 'Practice', from Ledger]