The fine fourth finger
of his fine right hand,

just slightly, when
he's tracking our path

on his iPhone or
repairing the clasp

on my watch I
will not think about

the myelin sheath.
Slight tremor only,

transient, so
the flaw in the

pavement must
have been my

mother's back.

From The Selvage by Linda Gregerson. Copyright © 2012 by Linda Gregerson. Reprinted with permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.