Ruth Lehrer
RECURSIVE
My handwriting is going downhill
They say it’s a sign
of mental slippage, or psychic distress
or maybe decay of muscles in the hand
in the brain
It makes me anxious
that my Ts are now uncrossed
and my Es slide into Ls
It’s a sign I think
of anxiety percolating
distrust between fingertips and
eyes
The sight of the world
the muddy potholes, the gray face
of my neighbor, the fury
of a woman who has stopped
biting her tongue
And my hands
who are at a loss
blood inconsistent and maddening
fingers who really want to be a fist
stuck scratching
cursive lists
bruised lines on paper
No wonder
the hill is always down.