My Hands

My hands
Have changed
They may appear
To be the same
Still small, fragile,
Thin
The only visible difference
Is the paint
That now splatter them

but

They've flipped through the pages
Of a new novel
A favorite book waiting
To be read
They have caused me
So much pain
Over the last year
A brace here,
A doctor's visit there
They've helped me
Express how I felt
In ways words
Could not
They have held up
A sign
Protesting for change
They have traced
Lines to a script
Adventures waiting
To be reenacted
My hands have changed
As have I.