The Surgeon's House

Burning Airlines

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.