Stretch

The multifidi and the rotatores are small muscles that move the spinal vertebrae in relation to each other. The dura mater is the tough connective tissue that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

I squat, like the old Vietnamese
men at the bus stops, froglike,
elbows within my knees, my belly
swagging between my thighs.

The faintest click, felt not heard,
in the lumbar vertebrae.
The braided multifidi let go.
The rotatores loose

their grip; the sacrum tilts
infinitesimally. The breath
rises through my spine
like solvent in a crusted lock.

The dura mater sighs; the shoulders
drop, my eyes close
as the pressure behind them eases.
I press my hands together.

Namaste. The air blows through
my bones. I think of you,
my darling, my beautiful
windshaken flower.