My mother-in-law fell,
landing on her chin
and her pelvis
and, finally, her elbow,
which given the cement curb,
couldn’t do much else
but break.
My husband sent me a photo,
her chin already spreading purple and blue
like a storm.
I call to tell her
that I’m sorry she fell,
and has to have an operation
and is in so much pain,
and I’m sorry that over eighty-five years,
we don’t grow a single bit of armour,
and I’m sorry that her body
is now something to watch out for,
like a separate, delicate thing,
but what I really wanted to say
was I’m sorry for all the people
who might now only see her cracks
and not her strength,
which never belonged
to a body at all.