Old Love Jo Ann Baldinger

OLD LOVE

The new skeleton looks like The new yoga students Glossy, firm, trussed up tight

I miss the old one Whose yellow limbs dangled From loose ligaments

Who slouched with cool grace Like a guy who’s seen it all The type I always fell for

Who was trundled, on occasion, from his corner To illustrate some fine point of anatomy His expression ever calm, inscrutable

Some days he gazed at the rain Some days he gazed at us Turned to cranes, cobras, warriors, trees

I miss the old skeleton His ancient thick knuckles The kindness in his empty sockets

When we lay like corpses In the darkened room.

Editor’s note: The Julie Lawrence Yoga Center in Portland, Oregon, has always had a life-size, hanging skeleton in the studio—on

hand for illustrating fine points of structural anatomy. After many years and many demonstrations, the skeleton had to be replaced in 2015. Jo Ann’s poem is her tribute to the old one.

Jo Ann Baldinger lives in Portland, OR., where she writes poems, practices yoga, and tries to be patient. Her poems have appeared in Stickman Review, White Whale, Monarch Review, Cirque, Burningword, Verdad, and Blue Mesa. “Old Love” first appeared in Stickman Review, vol. 14 no. 2.

B.K.S. Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States P.O. Box 538 Seattle, WA 98111

www.iynaus.org