Body Language

Finally! I have come of age!

No longer a need 

for a weather vane to determine which way the wind is blowing or a cheerful meteorologist to tell me the patterns of cloud and currents in the sky. 

No longer a need to 

step outside to feel 

the changes in the weather or 

check a weather app to see 

what my day may bring. 

There is a stiffening ache in my knee 

while clouds gather in the distance ~

an extra pull to neck muscles from my shoulder 

while the temperatures drop precipitously ~

a tender elbow while, outside and in, barometric pressure 

responds too gravely to gravity. 

All in the midst of calm moods 

and before stormy moods, 

the weather decries numbers, graphs and pictures.

Stories of arthritis flares and weather changes ~

no longer ‘old wives tales’ but 

real and sharp and annoying. 

‘Yes, I get the message’ I say to my joints 

as though they were all plotting against me. 

But my message to them is:

‘No matter. It’s time to go for a walk outside

whether the weather is changing or not.”

“Body language is more powerful than words.”
~ Ricky Gervais