Volatile, Anna Koeferl
I once read that an eye
could be removed from its socket,
the optic nerve still attached
and functioning.
Can you imagine such a careful operation?
I imagine a white coat surgeon—
a doctor, perhaps,
steady hands lovingly twisting the scalpel and pin,
circles onto circles onto circles,
lens onto iris onto pupil,
all comes scooping out.
The sound would be like
rubber balls squeezing
through cracks on a wooden floor.
I want to know
what the eye can see after,
unable to close or turn away,
what do we miss in the space between blinking?
What would it show us,
a tethered, bulbous orb,
slowly shriveling dry and red
as molten rubies bleed through the cracking veins.
About the Author
Russel Jaffe · Oberlin College
Russel Jaffe was raised in CT and I am currently a neuroscience student at Oberlin College. My writing can be found in the Plum Creek Review, Crazy Bitch Magazine, and the New Canaan Public Library. “Krousher” first appeared in Plum Creek Review.
About the Artist
Anna Koeferl · Maryland Institute College of Art
Anna Koeferl is a New Orleans-based artist recently graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Painting. Anna’s paintings have been shown nationally as well as internationally including cities such as New Orleans, Baltimore, and Florence, Italy. She is largely inspired by the decorative arts, design, and the natural world.”Volatile” first appeared in The Harvard Advocate.
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