The Operative (Word) Being

By Meredith MacLeod Davidson

filed within white hearts
that I refuse to vacate
“Favorites” by which I mean most
accessible—expense betrayed

by a glare—photo paper translated
to screen the reflection the same
in all its layering—young
woman, white gown, you think

it may be a wedding

with a thumb swipe
that same woman
appears again, white gown
hand on The Bible—no

wedding eyes to the bulbs
fluorescent as a prayer
escapes cracked lips and
a doctor enters, let’s check

vitals: blood, breath,
a white-gowned woman is
wheeled away to an operation
with a success rate

comparable to marriage

---

Meredith MacLeod Davidson is a poet and writer from Virginia, currently based in Scotland. Meredith's poetry is published or forthcoming in The London Magazine, Puerto del Sol, trampset, Cream City Review, Propel Magazine, The Boiler, Gutter, and elsewhere.