the surface scar is small, a clean knife line
haloed by staple-dots

inside, the window they made
was much larger

she said the corner of the inner stitches
was an inch out
and an inch up
kittycorner
from each end of the incision

another line
runs up the middle
where she split the center seam
of my belly
almost to my navel

lately, at night, i can feel this
knitting, i hope
beneath unblemished surface skin

the wounds within

itch
feel strung too tight
and burn.