These poems are published as part of the Amplifying Disabled Voices special section, selected by editors Christopher Heuer, Marlena Chertock, and Gregory Luce.
Surgery
Waiting is the worst part. Time feels like a guitar
being tuned in my chest, the string winding
tighter and tighter until the nylon snaps. I grieve
in flat notes. My mind’s out of tune. My scars
carry the dissonance. My head hurts –
my throat plucks anxious melodies. A sharp
smell of astringent goes into my IV.
The doctors are blue as a ballad. A rhythm
taps through fingers. Tools are prepared.
My hand is held and in 10, 9, 8-
the anesthesia echoes. While I sleep, I listen
to the music of bone saws and scalpels.
Makena Metz is a writer and songwriter for the page, screen, and stage. She has an MFA in Creative Writing and MA in English from Chapman University. Her prose and poetry have been published with The Literary Hatchet, The Clockhouse Review, For Page and Screen, The Fantastic Other, The Bitchin’ Kitsch, Arkana, Strange Horizons, and many more. Find her work on Chillsubs or @ makenametz on social media and check out makenametz.com.
Featured image in this post is, “Fire breathing “Jaipur Maharaja Brass Band” Chassepierre Belgium” by Luc Viatour, license via creative commons, wikimedia commons.
