Do you ever consider how intimate

her work is?

 

Touching the softest

wettest parts of the human body

smelling the warm, contained gasses

disturbing the dark and,

blue blood turns red.

 

she understands what it is for you to be alive

what it takes to sustain your breath

as you lay separate from your body

in a way

you won’t remember

 

you don’t even know why stuff works

only that if it stops

 

so do you.

What is it called when a person becomes too aware of their mortality?

 

 

It isn’t about getting old

it’s about having flesh.

Expiring, packed meat, steak in the grill flesh

the stuff that wrinkles as it ages

sags as it begins to stretch

turns blue and swells with baby, or infection…

Pores open to disease

 

How must the surgeon feel about her temple?

to understand each twinge of pain

to know if a headache reaches through to the brain

is tumorous…or just stress.