Initiation
==========

* Ayol Samuels

> >  Today I met her face to face
> > 
> > Her eyes were sullen, her mouth drooped.
> > 
> >  My face unshaven, my hair undone.
> > 
> > Her tongue positioned to release the unspoken.
> > 
> >  My forehead wrinkled, my brow creased.
> > 
> > Her complexion obscure, her teeth
> > 
> > Almost piercing her paper-thin lip.
> 
> > A hyoid bone floating magically,
> > 
> > The neck's triangles precise, thyroid a butterfly,
> > 
> > Left lung poised for a handshake,
> > 
> > The aorta's pathway to Celiac, Mesenteric, Renal,
> > 
> > The legs, extensors and flexors, origins, insertions–
> > 
> > Beautiful the touch, the cut, the push, the pull—
> > 
> >  If only he remembered the face. 

## Footnotes

*   Competing interests None.

*   Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.