A complicated procedure; A simple decision — A Poem by Maya Lewis
SPECIAL ISSUE: HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE
WORDS - Maya Lewis
Photography - Brina Blum
I need to crack open your chest
and scrape clean your arteries. This
is urgent. Your history confirms it.
What’s your diet like? Ah, well you
are, well, what you eat. No, sorry.
No other options. This is life or
death. Trust me. Trust me. Your
arteries, they’re chocked full. The
test confirms it; your history agrees.
I know your history. I know medicine.
I’ve studied the body. No, not your
body. THE body. And I need to crack
open your chest. Or rather, you need
me to crack open your chest, haha.
It’s surprising you haven’t died yet.
It seems to have pass-ed you by, get
it? Haha. You are a wonder to your
race and your family. There will be a
long healing process, but it’s necessary.
Trust me. No need for a second opinion.
Your history is the 2nd opinion and 3rd
and 4th. Let me take you back now.
This is life or death. Your life or death,
so, will you let me crack open
your chest?
About the Author
Maya Henry Lewis is a book marketer, poet, and mixed-media. She’s an avid pop-culture enthusiast and the co-founder of the NONAC, a literary newsletter (currently on-hiatus). Maya is also a faculty member of the Inkluded Academy, a program focused on diversifying the publishing industry. She was a Brooklyn Poets 2021 Fellow, a 2022 Tin House Workshop alum, 2023 Keywest Literary Seminar Fellow, and a 2023 Watering Hole Fellow. She has been published in No Dear, The Amistad, and SoftPunk Magazine. She lives in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
