"The Topology of My Bones" by Teresa Burns Murphy

Mother discovers curves,

unlike the abstract curves

she studied in topology,

as she traces the trajectory

of my spine, twisting

beneath her fingertips,

bones winding like a road,

destination unknown until

Dr. Smith identifies the path-

ology: “Scoliosis—curvature of the spine.

Beyond my line of work,

I’m afraid.

An orthopedist must address this

disease.” Barely thirteen, I

stand naked next to an x-ray

of my crooked spine

inside a cold conference room,

worried. Mother waits outside.

I follow the lead orthopedist’s

command to face the wall.

He points to the deviant course

my bones have taken.

Eleven other doctors, male

medical apostles, seated at the table,

look on as he haloes his hands

around my neck and lifts me. Traction

wavering, my spirit springs from my body,

spirals up that double-helix staircase,

twining toward a higher plane

where all the points align.

Teresa Burns Murphy is the author of a novel, The Secret to Flying (TigerEye Publications). Her writing has been published in several places, including The Bookends Review, Chicago Quarterly Review, Doubleback Review, Evening Street Review, Gargoyle Magazine, The Literary Nest, The Opiate, The Penmen Review, River and South Review, Slippery Elm Literary Journal, Sparks of Calliope, Stirring: A Literary Collection, The Word’s Faire, and The Write City Review. Visit her at https://www.teresaburnsmurphy.com.