Good Thing

by Cynthia Bernard


Good thing I’ve got two shoulders
on a bad day
when my right arm
can’t even pick up a towel

Used to be easy
to wash a pan
brush my hair
pull on a sleeve

Used to be
applying deodorant
didn’t turn me into a contortionist

Never thought twice about
turning a doorknob
carrying a cup of tea
walking downhill
rolling over

Always thought I’d want to go on forever
but if the worst days
become my every day
I don’t know

Never thought anything would stop me
but the right shoulder
the left knee
my hips
both hands

Moderate to severe degenerative changes
said the doctor
you can see it on the x-rays

I can feel it in my days
don’t want it
can’t change it
and here it is

My beloved
weaves his fingers through mine
drawing me close
my heart welcomes him
but my fingers cannot
and we have to find another way
to intertwine


* * * *

"Good Thing" was first published in MockingOwl Roost (Volume 2, Poetry Special Issue 2022).

Cynthia Bernard is a woman in her late 60's who is finding her voice as a poet after many decades of silence. A long-time classroom teacher and a spiritual mentor, she lives and writes on a hill overlooking the ocean, about 20 miles south of San Francisco.