Flexibility has abandoned me
And my limber is desperately lost
I felt it last between my head and knee.
Now stiffness exacts a staggering cost.
I cannot crane into a sock anymore.
It is too much a teetering affair.
I cannot afford to smack the floor,
So mournfully, I must use a chair.
Though I’m stiff and sore, I remain upbeat,
I can buy Velcro shoes instead of laced.
But sometimes now I stumble to my feet.
Since bend and balance have been erased,
I have no strength to run, dance, or leap,
Lord, if I must fall, let me fall in sleep.