Eye for an Eye by Elaine Sorrentino

Eye for an Eye
———–post radiation

After I silently counted
the last “six Mississippi”
under the linear accelerator,
lowered my arms
and rolled off the table,
the technician tossed
a fistful of confetti in the air
and handed me a certificate
of completion.

In private that night
after unwrapping
that tender breast
itchy and inflamed,
soothing it with salve,

I folded the beige parchment
once, then once again,
knelt before the fireplace,
threw open the flue,
and struck a match.

Elaine Sorrentino has been published in Minerva Rising, Willawaw Journal, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, Ekphrastic Review, Writing in a Women’s Voice, Global Poemic, ONE ART: a journal of poetry, The Door is a Jar, Agape Review, Haiku Universe, Sparks of Calliope, Muddy River Poetry Review, and at wildamorris.blogspot.com.