These hands are mine - Jason de Koff

The hands I see

are not those I recognize

from my youth

and must be someone else.

The spots and scars,

weathered lines

criss-crossing a map

of travelled highways.

I used to see hands like these,

but they were on bodies

of those much older,

alien to my world.

But my hands molded me,

took on the trials,

supporting me

when there were none.

Clenching at injustice,

fulfilling expectations,

tending others’ needs,

and comforting sadness,

So many uses

these hands have seen that

creasing and spotting and scarring

now seem happy reminders instead.

Bio:

Jason de Koff is an associate professor of agronomy and soil science at Tennessee State University. He lives in Nashville, TN with his wife, Jaclyn, and his two daughters, Tegan and Maizie. His chapbook, “Words on Pages”, is currently available on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3eookJk