09-18-2002, 01:50 PM
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| Senior Member  | The Kiss
I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face post-operative, and her mouth twisted in palsy; clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, had been severed. She will be thus from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh; I promise you that. Nevertheless, to remove the tumor from her cheek, I had cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed, and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private. Who are they, I asked myself, he and this wry-mouth I have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily? "Will my mouth always be like this?" she asks. "Yes," I say, " it will be. It is because the nerve was cut." She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles. "I like it," he says. " It is kind of cute." All at once I know who he is. I understand, and I lower my gaze. One is not bold in an encounter with a god. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth, and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate her, to show her that their kiss still works. Richard Selzer
__________________ God Bless. From Tejas -- formerly known as Texas. Last edited by alan c.; 09-19-2002 at 10:48 AM. |
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09-18-2002, 08:51 PM
| #2 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Socorro, NM
Posts: 202
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Alan c. we all need to be reminded of the simple things sometimes. Thanks for doing that for me today. Benny
__________________ Are you going to eat that?? |
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