I Unfold Myself Tediously I unfold myself tediously each morning As I would a scrap of wet crumpled paper. My arthritic stiffness Reflects dimly the convoluted wrongness Of my being--- And of yours--- This wrongness upon which limps Our corporate self. Is this finitude creaking in my joints The voice of Ezekiel Preaching to the bones That they shall be raised up Out of this parched valley, Their suppleness restored? Or is it the voice of my Doctor Telling me to take aspirin Three times a day to reduce the swelling Until such time as orthopedics can help no more? This morning as I walked in the city I saw a prophet preaching to the tulips In a square of streets. I could not hear his words.