Dissolving Glue
Tiki’s wooden body sighs and echoes
After the procedure, he groans as
White blood cells race to the incision sites
To triage the order of ingress vs. egress
Of oxygen and nutrients
Providing the battle plan at the cellular level.
His red and white blood army is armed and well-trained.
The surgeon, now serving as adjunct to the miracle, is
On standby.
Tiki complains of tenderness
The kilogram weight of the spear as it
Presses against his sore chest
The paradoxical meaning
Behind tissue growth and rebuilding
And the impermanence of the liquid stitches
Inside this scarred immortal
Holding it all together.
I purr and wail
Until I appraise the surgeon’s handiwork.
The incision is deep. It is heart-shaped.
I notice her mark on the lower right
They spell out my name
Katya M. Cartouche.
1-11-26
Published by
C. S. De Dona
Author, Poet, Photographer, domestic violence survivor, and naturalized immigrant, Cornelia is currently an Arts and Letters member of The Southwest Florida Branch of The National League Of American Pen Women.
Cornelia lived in Kaneohe, Hawaii, for thirty-six years. Also, seven years in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York. She now resides in North Fort Myers, Florida.
Her poems and photography are published in print, online, and in Rain Bird, a literary and art journal of the University of Hawaii's Windward Community College (2008-2013).
In 2013, Cornelia received Rain Bird's Kolokolea Poetry Prize for her poem, "Speaking French."
In 2016, her chapbook "Hawaiian Time," entered in the National League of American Pen Women's Vinnie Ream contest, was awarded third place in their inaugural multi-discipline category.
View all posts by C. S. De Dona
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