So I've got a mere 50 pounds on the leg press machine,
And I'm pushing, pushing.
And I lean my head back on the rest
And I close my eyes,
And instantly I'm in a place
Of pain and joy mingled together.
I'm very present suddenly,
And I relive the birth of my second son.

I remember then how the pain
Forced my mind to go somewhere else,
How I thought of mountains I'd climbed
And rivers where I'd swam.
Sweat beaded from my brow and dripped
Until my cotton hospital gown
Stuck to me
The way you used to do.

Eleven years has come and gone,
And finally, the pain I thought I'd forgotten
Revisits me.
It chuckles at me,
Pushing a mere fifty
To lose a mere ten.

And I wonder where I'll be
When now catches up to me.
I'm sure I'll be trying to forget this.

-jenn