reflections

i was doing my centering
when i got two pictures
the first i don't remember
the second was a woman pulling a cart

she was a young girl with tangles of brown
hair sneaking out from beneath her white skull cap.

she had on a black dress
tight on the top which outlined her full womanly bosom

there was a white big just meeting the front of her chest
and the middle of her back.

her skirt was black and flared out as she walked and
met her ankles which were covered in black stockings.

her shoes were heeled and black.

meghan bent over and took a deep breath
her legs were tired
and her tongue darted out and wiped the moisture from her upper lip

she had been at this for two hours and did not know how much longer
she could keep up.

her hands were wrapped around the handles of the cart and she could
feel nothing in them except a dull ache
they seemed to be cramped into position
and her mind went to her pinkie and she told it to wnrap itself from
the tight grip but it was like the pinkie had its own life
and it was there to stay with the rest of her four fingers
tightly wrapped around the piece of wood as if her hand was of
one mind.

her mind traveled to her feet
and she tried to wiggle her big toe
she concentrated as hard as she could
and yes finally she felt a wiggle

she moved her big toe and then the next all the
way down the line to her small toe

she did the right foot first
and satisfied that she had some control of her right foot
she moved to the left

this was a little bit more difficult
as her left big toe just stood quiet
she couldn't make it move

she tried thinking extra hard
and put all her thoughts into moving all five left
toes at once.

it was at that moment that the wheel of the cart got
stuck in a rut
and meghan felt herself going to one side
she tried to regain her footing
but because she had no feeling in her left foot
there was nothing she could do but follow the handle
until her hand was in mid air and her left ankle gave
way and she followed the cart and landed up on the floor
of the road in a panic.