I was in a car accident on June 13, forced off the road by an SUV that didn't see me, didn't slow down. Here's a poem.

Missing my forehead

Car having struck cement embankment,
Head having struck steering wheel,
Pushing myself back to sitting up:
Rear-view mirror reflects, just above my eyebrows,
A streak of white skull, and bright red borders.

Faces of strangers show ÒOh God! Oh my God!Ó
But they say, ÒHold still. How old are you?
What is your name? This your nurse.Ó
ÒWhat is your name?Ó I ask them all, each face.
Each face too strong, too polite, too willed, too busy
To say, ÒOh my God.Ó

*********************

Now my forehead shows a well-stitched line,
Defined, of a certain shape, unexpected,
Hard to gaze upon Ð Hard to see reflected
In the gazes I see.

I remember my brow as nothing, a blank space. Not now.
I close my eyes to see it. From here it seems
A buzzing, red line of itch and burn.
It is new. It will fade, soften.
It will not vanish.
This is my face now.