The left your twin scimitarred
years past the scar hidden
beneath its diminished crescent
you tomorrow flayed and sliced
east to west nipple to breast
bone for the rest of life
the surgeon promises
the ditch cut deep and clean
tissue stitched to clean
incisions fade, she says, to ghost
skin invisible to all.
Heart sheath
my metaphor
in flesh that lately pleased
my infant and my spouse
and will again be altered
as my hidden self
whose only cure more loss
I am now used to
being carved away.
For full poem, check out our summer 2023 issue coming out in July 2023!