Legs Poem by Quincey Burkhalter

Do my legs have memory?
Do they remember
The standing,
The waiting?

Do they remember every time
I have run,
The zealous burn,
Disquieted calculation in my
Muscles?

I have put hard miles
Upon them.

Do they remember
The anger,
Standing at the door
As I was given notice
That my life would be
Turned upside down?

Do they remember
The blood draining from them
As I walked to
My living room floor
To sit like a hermit
On top of desert dune?

The miles through rocky,
Rough terrain
That have left them weak;
Yet, they do not complain.

Do my legs recall
Failing to support me,
Contemptuous wind ripping
Through my branches
Pulling my roots from
Underneath me?

How hard and fast
Must I run
To quiet
The shrieking of my tired limbs?
Only fast enough to
Stand entirely still.
Will they remember that?