A Poem to Commiserate the Long Recovery from Knee Surgery

After 10 years of waiting, the partial tear in my ACL (high-school fencing injury) finally snapped (rock climbing injury). Since the surgery a few weeks ago, I’ve been in a full leg brace and have very limited mobility, which will last for another 5 – 6 weeks, when I will have only partially limited mobility.

On the whole – I have nothing to complain about. The pain is light, I have good healthcare, and will return to climbing next year, after 6 – 8 months of physical therapy. And last year’s quarantines really prepared me for spending weeks alone in my office.

While my writing output in preparation for the next book on teatechnique.org has declined during this early recovery, I did manage to write a poem reflecting on my condition:

Felled by worn sinew,

Many limp months await,

As I bide my time in the study,

Brewing torn pieces of tie bing[1],

Mending what is broken and stitching new thoughts.  
Jason Cohen – 10/12/2021

[1] 铁饼, “Iron Cake”