If I could do a handstand
right now
I wouldn’t.
Being upside down these days
makes the room spin funny.
When I was young I’d have liked to be able
to do a handstand,
but arms and legs didn’t seem to
coordinate well enough—
all too independent minded
to work together.
A headstand was easier to manage
but what looks cute at nine or ten,
looks ungainly at fifty-two.
Anyway
I’d rather watch you tumble about now,
laughing together,
play-fighting,
bickering and loving.
You try things much more daring
than I ever did.
You look at others and say;
If they can, well, surely I can too!
Perhaps if I’d thought that way
more often,
I’d have been happier
trying to do a handstand today.

Or maybe I’d still just have written a poem about it
while drinking a cup of tea…