The Man With Parkinson's Considers David, by Claire Keyes

David, by Michelangelo (Italy). 1501-1504.

​ 
 The Man With Parkinson's Considers David

My wife holds the car door open
and waits for me to extend my hand. 
 
I focus on her feet as she leans back for the pull.
My legs deplore this move, stolid as David
 
on his pedestal in Florence. We visited, my wife and I,
gazing up as we circled the splendid figure
 
of the boy who vanquished Goliath with a rock from his sling.
That youthful face, tense and ready for combat.
 
That broad torso and Herculean span of shoulders.
The muscled arms, bicep-heavy, the voluptuous forearms,
 
exquisite genitals and expansive chest. Those legs.  
 
No boy, I thought, but god-like man. But I digress.
My legs refuse to assist my progress
 
from car to house. Stand up! I insist.
Reluctantly, they obey.

Claire Keyes

Claire Keyes is the author of two collections of poetry: The Question of Rapture (Mayapple Press) and What Diamonds Can Do (WordTech).  Professor emerita at Salem State University, she teaches in the SSU life-long learning program and lives in Marblehead, MA. where she conducts a monthly poetry salon.