I stopped the biting of my lips, <br />When my cheeks began to get sore... <br />From the turning of them, <br />From one to the other. <br />With a feeling that my neck, <br />Had been exercised enough. <br /> <br />And in the doing of such, <br />I've learned so much... <br />About the having of unappreciated patience. <br />And toes crushed from being stepped on. <br />Some believed I had added swagger to my walk. <br />Not true. <br />I was in the process of healing a foot. <br /> <br />Biting lips, turned cheeks and crushed toes... <br />Eventually have their way, <br />Of opening a mouth kept closed. <br />To announce in intentional offensive ways, <br />Days that have ended a patience taken for granted. <br />And... <br />A return to a natural gait with a smoothened stride.<br /><br />Lawrence S. Pertillar<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-return-to-a-natural-gait/
