The Surgeon's House

where did my father find this photograph? 

where is the spite, the narrowed eyes? 

she was so beautiful in black and white

anywhere else, would i recognize that smile 



is it like mine? 



was this before she died from making the best of it? 

prehistory in tacked-up polaroid

proof of a life nothing survived

anger like amber, where they're fossilized

maybe i like the way it dulls the light



anaesthetized



were we ever alive? 



it's so cold inside the surgeon's house tonight