early morning,
i started to miss you,
the sun shining,
melting the kitchen
like so much butter.

ah, the good times ...
the lazy mornings,
eggs and bacon,
spitting at the grill
but then i remember ....

there were bad times too,
as i slam the knuckles
of my least dominant hand
in the silverware drawer
with greater than great purpose.

i need this hand to ache,
need to favor it upright
and against my chest,
throbbing and beating
as hard as my heart,
a day-long reminder.

afternoon fading,
i started to miss you,
as the sunlight bled away
leaving the sunroom
begging for a lamp.

ah, the good times...
light gone to darkness,
day's ending leading
to a love's unique comforts.

but then i remember ...
there were bad times too,
as i strike a wooden match,
light a candle, and then douse the flame
using my nondominant palm.

i need this hand to ache,
need to favor it upright
and against my chest,
throbbing and beating
as hard as my heart,
an evening-long reminder.

late into the night,
i started to miss you,
the owl hooting without,
myself secured within,
cats and plants curled tight.

ah, the good times...
an evening laid to rest,
two heads bent over,
spitting in the same sink.
but then i remember ....

there were bad times too,
as i pour peroxide,
evenly over my wounds,
sizzling my nondominant core.

i need this hand to ache,
need to favor it upright
and against my chest,
throbbing and beating
as hard as my heart,
an all night-long reminder.

and in this brutal exercise,
i must remember this,
i am crippled at best,
but it's my dominant hand i use now
to shut off the light,
my less-dominant self,
in healing respite,
does not pick up the phone.

 ... how much bondage and suffering a woman escapes when she takes the liberty of being her own physician, of both body and soul .--Elizabeth Cody Stanton.