an unsolicited operation
Elysia (Editor-in-Chief)
an unsolicited operation
electricity shoots through my body
like a pen dispelling ink
but agonizing white pain
the surgeon cups each shoulder
shaking his head fiercely,
authoritatively . . .
i am
dying
beneath my paper gown,
two legs
put up a fight
kicking, thrashing — they are unholy
those legs should belong to me
i think
my body should share the same DNA
but they can’t be mine . . .
i am
numb
the so-called sterilized needle
is injected into my pale chicken thigh
a twinge, a twitch, a spasm of pain
my eyes roll backwards
concrete images become a
memory, something distant —
soon to be forgotten . . .
the beeping seeps into my ears
lifting me back to consciousness
a set of cold damp hands
hold my head up
without the hands, i’d collapse into
a pile of bones and drift
into the abyss of nothingness