On Waiting for my Wife to Return from Surgery

The surgeon’s hands
And her hands
Knitting, darning, mending
The world –
Frayed tendons
Like stray thoughts
Re-raveled.

Listening to
The slow oxygen
Of a spinning wheel,
Wool
Spooling anesthetic its
Soft
Breathing.

Click your needles
Three times
And return her to
Scarves and sutures
Shawl cross stitches,
Gut tied in knots
But not wrenched.

22 thoughts on “On Waiting for my Wife to Return from Surgery

    1. Thanks so much. It was actually a horrible slog to write this. Not because it wasn’t compelling, but because I seemed only to come up with one trope after another.

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  1. Lots of fine imagery and parallelism in this poem. I hope your wife’s surgery is productive. I had a trapped ulnar nerver that required some surgery, but it was orthoscopic.

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  2. I loved the connection you made between the hands of the surgeon and your wife.
    Very endearing — click needles three times to return her home — perhaps over the rainbow and straight into your arms. 🙂 Will you read this lovely poem to her?

    Liked by 1 person

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