Solid Eight: A Paean Poem

I’m recuperating from surgery
and hope to be here tomorrow.

Written for David’s Wea’ve Written Weekly
where our PoW, Nigel, asks us to write a
paean poem in response to his prompt –
“Paean of Personal Triumph”. Thanks for
the inspiration, Nigel & David! Here’s my take.

Rising like a question mark each morning,
shoulders offering their unsolicited opinions,
neck lodging its formal complaint,
and me, doing my best mid-yawn eyeroll ….
Oh, are we doing this again? Just great.

Let’s not forget the negotiations:
the ten-minute argument with a jar of pickles
that I win, eventually,
using language the pickles frankly deserved.
Remember to respect the pivot ….
the brilliant, adaptive pivot ….
when plan A falls apart at the wrist
and Plan B is born on the spot,
which is, frankly, better anyway.

Sometimes I keep a running commentary,
an Olympics sportscaster of my own indignities:
“And the right knee hesitates ….
YES, there it is, the classic morning wobble, folks,
a solid eight from the Eastern European judge!” ….
the joke made before anyone else can,
which is how I stay ahead of the game.

Honor the dark spells too,
the low grey days when even my wit
goes quiet for a while and I sit with it,
unimpressed, like waiting for a rude houseguest
to gather its coat and leave.
And it does. It always does.

Here’s what I’ve learned to find absurd:
the body’s baroque complaints,
its flair for the dramatic,
the single finger demanding attention at 3 a.m.
as if it has something urgent
and important to say like “ow”.

And praise the friends who know
not to offer pity ….
who know, instead, to offer wine
and the good kind of gossip,
who laugh with me and at me,
and honestly, I’ll take either,
because I’ve got wheels ….
and life’s too short and beautiful
for crybabies.

NAR©2026
#W3

Nancy’s Notes: A paean is a poem of praise and celebration. Traditionally, it was written to honor a god, a victory, or a heroic achievement. In modern poetry, a paean can celebrate something more personal …. a moment, a person, a turning point, or even an inner shift.

This is “I’ve Got Wheels” by Miranda Lambert

W3 Prompt #206: Wea’ve Written Weekly

^{Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, except where otherwise indicated. Thanks for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.}