FOUND upon a LEDGE is a toy soldier, a CADET by his uniform, an officer in training. The other toy soldiers seem to give him a WIDER berth, all arranged in dusty rows. Perhaps they are in awe of him, as he does have the air of an elite. Perhaps imagined as a RIDER on an army charger, noble of purpose and brave of heart.

Georg’ann

I don’t know how to respond
when asked to rate my pain.
It isn’t pain really. Perhaps more
SONAR of sensation. Questions
designed to clarify, I DEMUR.
Find my own descriptors.
When I move this way, it feels
acidly sweet like warm CIDER
pouring through my muscles.
Pulling my arms WIDER,
creates a pulsing heat, steady
pounding of a sharp meat mallet
then yielding to how taffy
might feel in an industrial mixer
right as it turns on, stiff
aching as the tugging begins.
Sitting still too long brings waves
of numbness, oddly present
this absence of pain.
Remember that feeling of being
a bicycle or horseback RIDER?
My body awareness does not fit
neatly into the question.

Heather