I ask my X-ray technician if they see people as skeletons
They say, “The bones of your hip,
the back. You can’t help but see.”
Then they fluster, directing me
to the elevator.
Earlier, quiet and surely, they mapped
my fifth lumbar with cautious fingertips.
Earlier, they lowered the heavy machine
with methodical tenderness.
In the parking lot, all I’m left with
is the poetry of bones.
15 thoughts on "I ask my X-ray technician if they see people as skeletons"
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sounds like everything went well in the end… nice writing…
Thank you for your kindness. It did go well, in the end. 🙂
Enjoyed this poem….. all too familiar, yet eloquently unique, this one!
Thank you! I felt like, used to being a patient, sometimes it can become almost an intimate space.
Technicians are trained how not to see people, only things or nothing at all.
Thank you for your insight. 🙂
I can understand why.
“The poetry of bones” – love this line. It would make a great title for a chapbook or a collection.
Thank you for your kind words and for a great idea!
That was a beautiful line!
Thank you!
Wonderful piece.
Thanks so much. 🙂
Good concise observations
Great!
Lovely!