Protruding

by Felipe Alvarez de Toledo

I like to Feel my protruding sternum
Feel my deformed chest
Repeat and retract
All I’ve said,
Admire the spot
On my finger, purple,
Where Mother
Slammed a car door
When I was little and ran
‘Til I felt no more;

I like to run my hands
Over the hard jags
On my canines,
Where Iron used to be,
Chipping any Nails
That try to remove them,
And then I remember
That chipped tooth,
From Middle School,
Which broke once
Twice
Thrice
Until we realized it had no fix,
And just removed
Replaced
It, and some forgot
But it is different.