She carved the last words
from herself with scalpel
and pen.
The earlier, not so deeply
buried ones, came out
as they went in.
In the end a self-Caesarian.
was required. The surgeon
and the patient died.
The words, however, thrived.
They’re all grown up now.
They’ve found good homes.
So overall, the surgery was
a great success.
J.H. Hall’s background is religion/literature and medicine. His poems have appeared in The RavensPerch, descant, Crosswinds, Slipstream, Valparaiso Poetry Review, The Comstock Review and other places. His essays and short fiction are published in The North American Review, TriQuarterly, and others along with 6 anthologies and several collections.
