Plié

Tender, the knees release like a sigh
grown old before its time
Thighs part and widen
like water from its source.
Large muscles extend
from the bed of the pelvis
and its anchors. Secure in its socket,
the femur turns open
like the handle of a door.
Gravity sweetens the suggestion.

Given the nature of physics and joy,
down is delicious: a day at the river
or sleeping in late. A plié becomes
a mother opening her hours,
the fold of the soul to earth,
or the fall of a swing
that must rise again, but not yet.