Untitled Lin

by Melody Lin

swift and smooth,
it cuts deep and with precision.
flesh and nerve endings give way,
the body changing,
altering its shape to allow
the intrusion to burrow,
as deep as it will go.

searing,
scalding.
ice cold for some,
and truly excruciating for all.

slicing,
gliding across,
the workings of humans,
and eventually lodging itself
in a faraway crevice.

from there,
nature can take its course,
entangling itself within the clockwork,
and suspending any chance,
any chance at all,
of the coveted happiness.

and it’s harrowing,
how the acuity of the shot,
can occasionally leave us stumbling
without even noticing it was made.