restless leg syndrome

she says, i think i was born broken.
i think my hips are so wide that my pelvis curves inwards
to compensate,
i think my legs are so long that my knees curve inwards
to reduce height.
she says, i think i was born broken.

in listening to her recitativo i am struck
by the patterns, the pitch:
her voice moves up to the pain,
down to the physiological compensation.

she says, some nights i sleep on the couch
so i won't wake him with my movement.
my legs twitch i roll over sometimes i murmur and talk
and i keep my knees bent because they like to lock up

(as though knees, which have preferences,
prefer to be encased in metal,
opened with medicinal keys and kept curved
like all the parts of her body that are broken)