(no subject)
I watched stitches put in
last week. A nine-centimeter cut
that left bare the scalloped edges
of fat, glistening blobs
to decorate the garnet muscle,
the one white ghost, a beauty-mark,
of fascia. The doctor said to me
without looking up, "If you
have questions, ask." Her hair
hung in her face from time to time--
how do you resist the temptation
to toss your head like a horse,
to blow and snort? I watched
the needle, not like a needle but like
a hook, like a fish-hook,
darting in and out, the needle clamp
glittering in the single bright
pool of light, the neat twist
of the scissors that tied
the knot that made the suture,
the knot made over and over again
so it would hold the active arm
together. The doctor was
a sloe-eyed woman and I wanted
to say, Tell me how to be
what you are: your steady hands,
your patience, the patience
that ties sixteen careful knots
in the skin and six beneath.
last week. A nine-centimeter cut
that left bare the scalloped edges
of fat, glistening blobs
to decorate the garnet muscle,
the one white ghost, a beauty-mark,
of fascia. The doctor said to me
without looking up, "If you
have questions, ask." Her hair
hung in her face from time to time--
how do you resist the temptation
to toss your head like a horse,
to blow and snort? I watched
the needle, not like a needle but like
a hook, like a fish-hook,
darting in and out, the needle clamp
glittering in the single bright
pool of light, the neat twist
of the scissors that tied
the knot that made the suture,
the knot made over and over again
so it would hold the active arm
together. The doctor was
a sloe-eyed woman and I wanted
to say, Tell me how to be
what you are: your steady hands,
your patience, the patience
that ties sixteen careful knots
in the skin and six beneath.