To love you, is to elect

open heart surgery
without benefit of
anesthetic
for a body which otherwise
would survive
plenty of uneventful days
with minimum exertion.

Careful neither in the cut
nor in the sewing up
you are like
an amateur watch-mender
cowlick in the wind
standing with several
small pieces in your hand
and I, in every way,
the clock I was before,
no longer ticking.

~ Melodie Corrigall

Originally published in: Thunderclap! Magazine