Fossilized
© Grace M. Murray, 2006
Juices flowed through the tips of her fingers.
embroidering delicate flowers, detailed greenery,
satin stitches and French knots.
Fingers heedless of their own dexterity.
Arthritis seeped in.
Once supple digits now hardened fossils—
Remnants of their former utility.
Now vinegar, soured, distilled, fermented,
her mind remembers only bits of what
her hands once fashioned.