c-section
peel back the slit layers of flesh,
cauterize capillaries like so many cigarette burns,
lift out the bloody fruit of the uterus
needles bite into the thick muscle
this part ends in a neat row of staples
I returned to the nicu, met a nurse who had been there 23 years ago, thanked her for taking care of me when I was a tiny, intubated doll in a plastic box
to hold a newborn is to know that your life is no longer your own
