W. Vandoren Wheeler

Aww/Awe

                             (for Martha Henning)

At the copy machine,

we swap a couple

phantom limb stories

impressed upon us

by veterans’ essays.

Then she among us

with grayest hair

says she lost

her “left, best tit”

to a cancer caught

just in time. Now, when

blessed with the presence

of a nursing mother,

she can still feel

a tiny mouthful of milk

dribble from the stubborn

ghost breast welling up

through the wide scar—

imaginary warmth

filling our mouths

opened in awe

at this tender,

brutal miracle.