Rehab I

I am 72 staring into
The rehab room,
It is the single biggest
Space in the facility,
As it should be.
I am not an advocate of
Exercise for its own sake,
But I now see I was wrong.
A dozen physical therapists
Are directing a score of
Patients most over 70 and
Here to recover from
Some injury by exercise,
I am in hell was my first
Thought but my sons know me
Too well and one is with me so
I must be politely curious
And as I watch I see
A symmetry in the chaos.
In the next few days I am a
Participant in helping people
Recover their ability to walk,
Reach, lift and move about.
And it sometimes worked if one
Was willing to work for it and
Was still able to go through
The motions but repetitively.
Even the oldest patients
Regained some of what they’d
Lost to accident or age.
I did all my therapists asked me
To do and was surprised at
Feeling better as well as starting
To learn to walk again.
Five days after I lost my
Right leg below the knee
To diabetes complications,
I began rehab and after only
Three days I saw surprising
Improvements on my way
To walking again in months.
I am a convert to what I had
Before seen as self-indulgent
Exercise without real purpose,
I was wrong to prejudge what
I did not really comprehend.
With sustained hard work I
Will recover and walk again,
My life will go on to I know
Not what but I will be
More aware and
Respectful of
The benefits
Of simple
Exercise,
Though
I was
Already too
Repetitive.