Poems (Nora May French)/Vivisection

by Nora May French

VIVISECTION

WE saw unpitying skill
 In curious hands put living flesh apart,
 Till, bare and terrible, the tiny heart
Pulsed, and was still.

We saw Grief's sudden knife
 Strip through the pleasant flesh of soul-disguise—
 Lay for a second's space before our eyes
A naked life.