I remember,
When I took geometry
In high school, I was
Completely lost
In the first two weeks.
I cried, out of frustration,
My mind couldn’t understand
Math’s language…

Not my first lesson, of such,
But my first to realize
My mind had limitations limitations.
I couldn’t think
In straight lines, and,
I agonized why…

As an example
Of limitations, let me
Introduce my fingernails.
Broadish, with fingers short,
due to genetics, and worse,
when they grow long.

They curve downwards,
All but the thumbs
And little fingers. I’ve let
The small nails grow,
Along with the all,
even though,
They get in the way
Of my mind’s eye, they look
So pretty, the rest do not.
They need to be cut back
To conform to my life’s energy.
I hate that…

I want to be beautiful,
In all ways, yet, I’m not,
In so many ways.

I wish myself matched
My smallest fingernails, wish
My path of life
Were so straight and narrowed
Sometimes, but, too often,
Warped curves
Exude my energy…

I don’t think I can even
Conceive, anymore,
At almost fifty,
If I was ever on the path
Of the straight and beautiful…

I’ve got to go, I cannot stand, or,
Understand the differences
Of who I am, I’ve got to go
Cut my fingernails short…

Erin Elizabeth Kelly-Moen
© Copyright 7/7/06