standard anatomical position                                                                                                                                                                                Kyle Apgar​

​​developing autopsy photos,

​i acted as death's hyperoptic

eye. on my screen, a woman

with an amputated right leg, 

cleaved just superior to the 

knee. her torso yielded a Y 

incision that began under each 

second rib, met mid sternum, 

and ended near 

the pubic synthesis. 

her dulling husk was held 

together by taut thread which 

made the adipose erupt from 

the fissure, and push out like 

jaundice fingers from within 

her chest, the way a cicada 

emerges from its shell. 

her trimmed pubic hair showed 

that she had better plans than 

laying on surgical steel, 

naked, 

photographed, 

measured, 

and taken apart as if 

she were a rusted out car.

 

i sat back, indenting my computer 

chair as my breathing slowed and 

gravity doubled on me, 

 

jealous of all the attention 

she was receiving.