I sit alone for 20 minutes
  
on the crinkly white paper of the
  
examining table at the Dr.’s office
  
gashed left foot lost
  
in brown antiseptic solution.
  
Others, if sitting in my place, may wonder
  
What if I’d cut my toes off?
  
Why didn’t the gash bleed?
  
Did I cut tendons as well as bone?
  
Will I be able to run?
  
How could I be so stupid?
  
These occur to me, though mostly
  
I marvel at how effortlessly, painlessly,
  
the chain saw in my hands tore through
  
running shoe, running sock, skin, and bone
  
and stopped
  
as if I’d thought, beforehand,
  
How deep can I go before
  
I do serious damage?