Nine hours
three a passenger
six driving:
522, 17, 70, 76
school zones
construction
end surveying.
Missed the surgery
made the recovery.
70 on 17
80 on 76
to stand
your arm resting on mine
as you shuffle.
You say pull me up.
No, I say, tuck your feet
push yourself up
with your hands.
Like the nurse
I stand
just out of reach.
— Wendy Scott Paff
Wendy Scott Paff's book Soon I Will Build an Ark, is new from Main Street Rag. Her poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Paterson Literary Review, Fourth River, Cobalt Review, Punchnel's and Potomac Literary Review, among others. She has an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh and lives in Highland Park. Many writers featured in Chapter & Verse are guests of Prosody, produced by Jan Beatty and Ellen Wadey. Prosody airs every Saturday morning on 90.5 FM.
