Stuck in the throat, like a word

elongated by time and anger,

or regret that spun itself

into a bitter egg,

the word tumor looms and dangles

up and down my gullet,

slides and sticks and flattens in my sleep.

From my breath to the column of my middle,

every pang and momentary dagger pricks the idea

of a gritty pebble lodged in soft tissue,

a pearl’s vicious, insatiable cousin.

The body is a wondrous thing, a wrapped

package of nerves and cushions, brittle

nuggets that bind us together.

What glittering and velvety junk we are,

moving through life and each other’s arms,

hiding and hidden from love and hurt,

blind to the unknown marauders in the dark.

MINDY KRONENBERG is a widely published poet, writer, critic, and professor of writing and the arts at SUNY Empire State College. Her work has appeared in print and online journals around the world, in anthologies and video recordings, and has been featured in art exhibits at galleries and museum installations. Ms. Kronenberg is a board member of Inspiration Plus, an arts initiative that educates through the linking of art to science, is the editor of Oberon poetry magazine, and a trustee of the Miller Place – Mt. Sinai Historic Society,