Carol says stretch
Jody says bend
Linda says lift
Suzanne says swing
Brenda says breathe
Donna says don’t eat
I stand at the back
of the exercise class
hoping no one will notice
that I can’t sit
with my legs straight
can’t touch my toes
can’t straighten my back
can’t bend sideways
I lag behind on the morning walk
Overtaken by the eighty-year-old lady
And the six-year-old child
I am first only in the dining room