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 ask myself, he and this wry mouth i have made, who gaze at and touch each other so generously, greedily? the young woman speaks.
'will my mouth always be like this?' she asks.
'yes,' i say, 'it will. 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 lips to accommodate to hers, to show her that their kiss still works."
-Richard Selzer, M.D. "Mortal lessons: Notes on the Art of Surgery"
1 comment:
just finished reading this book, this was my favorite part.
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