Who holds the doll,
Needle in hand 

That sends the sharp
Twinges into the skin and muscle
Of my chest
Without warning. 

Surprising, sometimes scaring me.
Almost two months
After the surgeon’s power saw
Separated my sternum in two.
And severed a zillion nerves
Across my chest. 

Is it a former student
Or employee
Who resented my evaluation of their work.
Or a neighbor who found my yardwork inadequate?
Or a stranger I cut off in traffic
Without even knowing it?
A friend or acquaintance I did not acknowledge –
Lost in my own world? 

Or is this normal?
An expected side effect after the surgery?
Or perhaps it just IS. 
No reason needed.
For the pain we feel.