Adult Ribs Break

toddler on the table
bleeding out from
a .22 to the gut
nicking the aorta
and bursting open
but there’s no blood
not yet
not with the hurried
bandage and stitches
covering a brutal incision
6 inches long

the surgeon rips
through the gauze
and the blood pool
spills and his intestines
gleam deep sickly mauve
shoved aside for

gloved hands that plunge
deep into the cavity
fingers slipping
over the vessel
applying pressure

a tech starts CPR
hoping to squeeze
a heart back to life
and you can feel
the little rib cage
bending

and you can feel it
against the aorta
beneath your finger tips

pumping pumping

for over 20 minutes

in vain