Mercedes Lawry: “Eye Exam”
EYE EXAM
I tuck my chin
on the ledge, lean
forward into splash
of lights, directed
up, down, side to side.
Drops in to thoughts of
Clockwork Orange,
the Alex eye.
My vision’s improved,
astounding at this stage,
but hovering on the left
optical nerve,
a shadow, a ‘mole’
the doctor calls it,
barely concerning
but somewhat.
She takes a picture and there
on the screen
are my eyes, two harvest moons
and the little black blip
that may be nothing, is likely
nothing. I hover
between reasonable caution
and flat panic,
drive away in dilated blur,
focusing on
those glowing orbs,
that damned spot,
nascent eclipse,
budding thief.
Mercedes Lawry has published poems in such journals as Poetry, Natural Bridge, Nimrod, and Prairie Schooner, as well as two chapbooks, There are Crows in My Blood and Happy Darkness, and received honors from the Seattle Arts Commission, Jack Straw Foundation, Artist Trust and the Richard Hugo House.