My wrist had been bothering me for a while.It had been about a month since I took the spill
going around that turn on campus
on the bike.
It had been wet
and I braked too hard
and my ankle was sensitive over a fall
the month before that
so I made a point to put pressure on my hands
and my right one had been feeling off ever since.

It’d been a while now, though,
so to Physical Services I did go.
The doc looked it over and suggested an X-Ray
so I went off-campus to have it looked at.
I shrugged and got it done.
When I got the call, there seemed a lot more tension over the airwaves.

"Could you come back down here right away?"

It seems there was a fracture in my wrist
which was the closest thing to a break
I had ever known.
Words were thrown around: navicular fracture to the ulna
it sounded like, but it was many years ago.
The names may have been changed to protect the innocent.

They put my arm in a cast
past my elbow
to ensure no movement
for a set of months.
No writing
no typing
no biking.
I became a leftie.

It was a bad time for my education.
It was a blur.
It’s a wonder I graduated in time.
It smelled by the end.

At least I didn’t hurt my ankle again.