Inoperable
       

Like all opposites, inoperable
comes from its root, from
the possible, in late

Latin, operabilis, in Latin,
operari, both of which sound
like something to sing about,

though it's worth noting
that opera makes unnatural
demands on the human instrument.

The natural inclination
of makers and what they make
is optimism, is believing the body

is not beyond repair, and labor
expended is not for naught, given
the possible positive outcome. Invasive

procedures are never the last
resort. The last place we visit
is the operating theater that shakes

its sorry head and signals, under
shuttered fluorescent lights,
under duress, adieu.

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Copyright © 2012 Andrea Cohen All rights reserved
from The Cincinnati Review
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission