With Thumb and Index Finger

 

With thumb and index finger,

you rub your eyes:

spring allergies.

 

How many things your hands did today!

 

Rub, tap, reach into,

twist this doorknob or that,

lift, pull apart,

button, hold a pen or pencil,

 

travel a Rand-McNaly map

across the continent,

 

stroke, sooth, turn a page,

grip a steering wheel,

cup a bowl of soup

(Do you remember the palm’s warmth?)

swing loosely at your sides,

 

circle beads, scratch your nose,

cup, catch, slide along, make a fist,

pat, imitate a spider—

you could list at least twenty more.

 

                               -Dick Allen