the look of legs
by Meg Baird
I was walking and turned
slightly
to see him in his wheelchair
looking at my legs
his were withered from polio
seemed he’d made the
iron lung
part of his persona
squat and stolid and a lawyer
like Ironside, no lie
I was aware suddenly
of the energy inside my
own
a burst of brightness
at about knee level
radiating up and down
a moment frozen in time
then he turned with a wide
sweep
of his wheels and we never
said
anything
Meg
Baird can be found in the ezine archives of Yellow Mama, Twisted
Sister, nemone Sidecar, Open Heart Forgery, Apollo’s
Lyre, and Prachya Review, as well as the paper
publications Fluidity, CV2: Poetry Only, Expressions,
and Fourth Floor Images. She enjoys performing in cafes,
libraries, bars and special events. Poetry, her own and that of others, has
saved her life on more than one occasion. Say no more!
Sadly,
Meg Baird passed away on April 6, 2024.
