C. Thompson Boling

How to Dissect a Heart

Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
go through five nymphal instars
before they learn how to dissect
hearts. It only took you a month
and a full beard. Choose your devices
wisely: a pitchfork or an impact wrench,
a cold metal cutting saw. Keep a tread.
The Aorta is like a closet knob,
with no turn button in the center–
so cross the threshold cautiously.
Do not validate the Mitral Valve
or the Pulmonary Veins–
put them in small boxes
that have fingernails that need
parts of a heart to beat, to learn.
Scientists in Pennsylvania are still
laboring on how the Tricuspid Valve
pushes blood from the Right Atrium
to Right Ventricle, to the swamp
behind the shed.

Author Bio

C. Thompson Boling is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she studied English. She currently lives on Nantucket with her husband, cat, and dog. When she is not writing, she spends her time selling real estate and growing daffodils.