Shannon K. Winston

X

X marks the spot
where the needle went in. 

X is the shape
of the 3 mm pin

they slipped in 
my right breast.

It will stay there
forever, or a long time, 

or at least for now–.
The tiniest marker

to show the doctors
where the calcifications are.

X marks the spot
where white flecks 

cluster like petals
of baby’s-breath

against the darkness 
of the X-ray.

Yes, X marks 
the spot where 

there’s something, 
maybe nothing– 

for now, 
for a long time, forever.

Shannon K. Winston’s book, The Girl Who Talked to Paintings (Glass Lyre Press), was published in 2021. Her individual poems have appeared in Bracken, Cider Press Review, On the Seawall, RHINO Poetry, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from the Warren Wilson Program for Writers.