WHEN YOUR BACKACHE RETURNS
The doctor, like a tour guide, pointed
to your X-ray and described points of interest—
the intervertebral space variability, features
of the sagittal and coronal plane. Like a weatherman,
he detailed the current conditions with broad
hand gestures and scientific confidence—
degrees of idiopathic curvature, the tilt
of various vertebrae. He gave the prognosis
like a forecast—no curvature progression,
your spine a stationary front. He prescribes
Ibuprofen, as much as you can tolerate, a heel
lift for one shoe. All like he’s done this
a thousand times before, which of course he has.
We hide so much from one another,
try to smooth out the imperfections
and dress up our faults. Yet, there you
were, the inside of you in the high-contrast
black & white. I was shocked to see
beyond what I could touch, what I liked
so much, to the little twist, one source
of your pain. That night, when the dull
ache kept you awake, I touched the surface.