Learning to write

finding my balance

I remember learning

to write in cursive

in third grade

how the teacher

gently moved my arm

~

so my elbow rested

on the edge of the desk

for support, she said,

and better control

of the pen.

~

I don’t remember

what I wrote

that day, just the feel

of her warm hand

gently nudging

~

my elbow forward

an inch or two

so it rested on the desk,

no longer hanging

in the air,

~

and how it felt

more snug, more secure,

like riding a bicycle

without training wheels,

and finding my balance.

~