We sit side by side on the sofa,
the home health nurse, nine months pregnant,

and me with my swollen bandaged knee.
She tells me to press my bare foot

against her shoulder
just above her bulging belly.

Tentative, uncertain,  I follow her lead.
Push she says.  Slowly I extend my leg

against her body, warm and yielding.
Is this okay I ask myself?

Back and forth, a sort of tai chi–
moving in sync toward healing.