a high tolerance for pain
i broke my arm when i was eleven
getting out of the bathtub (don’t laugh)
where i’d been reading
for hours i’m sure
and knowing me, i probably still had
my nose in my book when i stepped out
and caught my foot on the edge of the
faucet
went down hard and hit my upper arm
against the corner of a cabinet
cracking my humerus (it wasn’t funny)
and yeah, it hurt like hell
but nothing looked broken and
i was always falling
tripping, running into walls clumsy
my middle name
three days later i still hadn’t
seen a doctor
no one at fault i just didn’t act
the way a girl with a broken
arm would
and anyway pain is always a guessing
game
but eventually, my mom suspecting
an x-ray was ordered
and i remember
being just a little bit silently glad
because there would be
six weeks of no chores for me
(stupid dishes)
and i had a stack of books to
read
.
.
.
April 6th, 2013 at 9:44 am
ugh…when i fell on a college visit we waited….3 days later my wrist locked up…they thought i shattered it…but tore the tendons away from the bone…ha…at least you got to read…i had to take senior exams wrong handed…
April 6th, 2013 at 11:36 am
Reminded me of an incident too – engrossed in a book while trying to slice veggies with a sharp knife – not smart or funny! Wonderful – K
April 6th, 2013 at 11:37 am
Oh, this is wonderful. I love the skipping style of your cadence. Your writing is so artful !! Love.
April 6th, 2013 at 1:03 pm
Interesting! I wasn’t a read when young, but I could see myself doing that now. Having “a high tolerance for pain” also I do get concerned something important might get overlooked. I am glad your mom was aware enough to follow through and have your arm checked and that you didn’t have to do dishes for awhile.
April 6th, 2013 at 3:13 pm
I can relate to the falling and tripping, I was and still am a clumpsy girl ~ But good for you on not doing chores for a while and reading your books ~
April 6th, 2013 at 3:18 pm
ha smiles…even a broken arm can have something good after all…six weeks of reading sounds not bad at all..smiles
April 6th, 2013 at 3:21 pm
Snap!!
I too was eleven and fell over a brick. Clumsiness seems to be the norm at age. Also ignored as I never complained. Then I dropped the lid of my desk at school with a resounding blow and the teacher took action. Six weeks of be-eing read to by a kind neighbour lady. Tell me, can you foretell snow? That is when it hurts even now.
April 6th, 2013 at 3:27 pm
Oh, girl. This is really good. What stands out the most is your formatting, the way you dangle those final words to slow things down and make the reader think, and to add underlying meaning to what you’re saying on the surface.
You’re basically ending on the note that life is a cycle, a repeating of habits. You will always be clumsy, you will always read, you will always break yourself, and you will always be tough enough to endure pain and get back up on your feet ready to do it all again.
Only in part is this about reading, slipping, and breaking your arm. I see parallels with falling in love. Relationships involve reading people, getting to know them, fumbling and falling on your bum, breaking your own bones so to speak, and getting back up to do it again.
I love this part:
no one at fault i just didn’t act
the way a girl with a broken
arm would
and anyway pain is always a guessing
That line break, forcing “game” to fall as an afterthought so as to emphasize “guessing” — excellent decision.
Impressive writing, as I’ve seen many times before from you.
April 6th, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Oh, my. I broke my foot at work a long time ago, reading a memo while walking down stairs. How many times did I have to be told not to read and do something at the same time? Zillions. Loved this.
April 6th, 2013 at 4:13 pm
loving this…our younger selves were so brave and resilient, weren’t we? A good book it must have been;)
April 6th, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Amazing that it didn’t hurt horribly enough for you to think it was broken right away. Ha, good not to have chores for 6 weeks though…not a bad ‘reward’ for your pain!
April 6th, 2013 at 5:06 pm
Forget my arm, I wouldn’t risk dropping the book in the bath!
April 6th, 2013 at 7:10 pm
I love what you do here.
My middle name is Clumsy too.
April 6th, 2013 at 7:41 pm
…ha, at least you had longer time reading books… i was 11 too when i’d been in a car accident… it was terrible as i broke my right arm & leg enough reason to be in bed for a month… reading books became a salvation… smiles… thanks for this…
April 6th, 2013 at 8:44 pm
Another outstanding “story.” What a gift you have for making these small bits of biography not only polished and interesting, but expressive of something universal. Very fine job. –SK
April 6th, 2013 at 9:09 pm
Wonderful write! I understand the high tolerance for pain. Sometimes a bad thing, but it works well for me.
April 6th, 2013 at 9:47 pm
at least your mom took you for an x-ray. some moms are negligent, and let you go on like that for years, and as kids we don’t know any better.
Reactivated
April 7th, 2013 at 7:13 am
Even breaking bones has its compensations 😉
April 7th, 2013 at 11:34 am
I like those dangling words between the stanzas, make you really want to stop and reread.
April 7th, 2013 at 4:10 pm
Something good should come out of that discomfort. 😉
April 7th, 2013 at 4:45 pm
Laughing ! New reading time.
I broke my arm near the end of a typing course and had to take it over — my typing got to be real good.
April 9th, 2013 at 2:03 pm
stupid dishes. yes.
I wish I had a broken arm so that the dishes in my sink right now would stop screaming at me.