The Appendix, a poem by Donald B. Campbell at Spillwords.com
Piron Guillaume

The Appendix

The Appendix

written by: Donald B. Campbell

 

(after bpNichol’s “Selected Organs”)

1.
I have what many people lack.
That’s a change.

2.
My body’s extra semicolon, its dangling participle,
a nagging reminder
that I can add appendicitis
to the list of things I could get.

3.
Appendix. Part of a book.
It seems right that I should keep it
shelved somewhere in my guts.

4.
Appendectomy. Hysterectomy.
Lobotomy. Colostomy.
Apostrophe. Catastrophe.
Only one of those is
impossible for me.

5.
Guess which.

6.
What side is my appendix on?
Right or left? Physically. Politically.
If I hang onto something just because it’s always been there,
am I a Conservative?

7.
What does it do in there?
Is it waiting for an emergency?
For my pain and nausea,
its coming out party?

8.
Would I miss it?
My fingertip tracing the scar
again and again
as it fades but never
disappears.

9.
Would it miss me?

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