Traction

I was a child in traction,
Pulled against the weight of greed,
An innocent victim of needless litigation.
I remember tight straps on my feet,
To keep me from being pulled away.

"Traction," she said today.
I am a grown woman.
The physical therapist speaks again
and washes me in cold darkness.
"Won't hurt a bit."

But the thought
Of being pulled,
of being chained to the weight
of some one else's making
Makes me heavy-hearted and afraid.

I remember too well,
As a child,
Being pulled apart.