Edna fights a fever and deep fatigue to finish work.
Her pencil falls from her hands.
She wills pain to stay in one place,
like the point of her compass. But illness sets its own course.
As she pushes herself up from a green wicker chair,
her knees feel like knots that refuse to loosen.
Her doctor says she has rheumatoid arthritis
and must find ways to cope with pain
that will always be her partner.
The future is like a river bound to shift to different speeds.
Edna makes plans while bracing for surprises.
Washington, DC, gives her ways to live with less walking.
The Potomac River is murky, but her shoulders are soothed
at a gym, where she swims laps in a turquoise-colored pool.