During John’s Surgery

 

FROM THE ONLINE CHAPBOOK THE JOHN AND MIM POEMS

During John’s Surgery

Miriam Levine

When they wheeled him in,

I locked myself in the car.

Gluey raindrops stuck

to the windshield like fish eggs.

A hairy man sulked by the hospital door,

an inch for a forehead like a werewolf’s.

He grimaced, showing his teeth,

and I shrank into myself.

If I had lived in ancient times

I would have believed my enemies

had prayed to Phobos, the god of fear

to shock me, like warriors before battle,

who slaughtered a bull and prayed,

as they dipped their hands in the gore.

Cover of The John and Mim Poems by Miriam Levine, featuring a man and woman smiling at each other against a bright red and orange background.

The John and Mim Poems
Miriam Levine
2026

The John and Mim Poems is a portrait of a marriage and Miriam Levine’s gift to you.

 
 
Poems, The John and Mim PoemsMiriam Levine