David Buuck : DISARTICULATIONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The feeling
of turning

to ashes inside
the feeling

that if you could
say what is

 

Sur    gical     ampu    tations per    formed un   der ex    tremely    diffi    cult con    di   tions    are    like    ly to    be sub    opti    mal,     mean    ing man    y of    those am    putated    will re    quire fur    ther    surge    ry.

 

happening
it would come

out like a
stream of boiling

water that boils
for life.”

 

 

 

 

“Or one can identify
the meaning

of the words
one can only guess

the use of hissing
sounds it is absolute-

 

A numb     er of sco     ring syst     ems have be     en devise     d to elim     inate the      subject     ivity of      the decis     ion of whet     her to am     putate or salv     age the limb      and to hel     p guide de     cision-ma     king based      on object     ive crite     ria. How     ever, the     re is no con     sensus in t   he lit     erature on      the reli    ability o    f ea     ch of th     ese syst    ems to pre     dict function     al outcomes      and the nee     d for second     ary ampu     tation in case     s where salv    age fails.

 

ly unbearable prison
officers visits court-

yards seem like a movie
uncontrollable flashes

the construction of sentences
the grammar the syntax.”

 

 

 

 

“The feeling that
your head explodes

the feeling that
an explosion can

rip your head off
the feeling that

 

When    the dis   art   icula     tion is com    plete, a    ny bony     prom    inences     or po    tential     sour    ce of ul    ceration    should     be rong    eured or     rasped     smoo     th. Th    e w     ound sh    ould be     irr    igated co    piously u    sing a     pulse    d lava    ge syst    em be    fore clo    sure. It     may be nec    essary be    cause of     in    fection     to le    ave the ampu    tation sit    e open an    d return     to the opera    ting roo    m for de    layed clo    sure.

 

your spinal cord is
compressing every-

thing in your brain
crumples the feeling

that your soul pisses
you out of your body.”

 

 

 

 

“You stop
looking

stop looking
at anything

you shut
your eyes

 

A cent    er in     the Syr    ian cap    ital pro    duces     pros    theses     from differ    ent mater    ials in    cluding     rem    nants of     we    apons,      plas    tic man    nequins     and wa    ter reserv    oirs, and     off    er the    m to phy    sic    ally dis    able    d vic    tims     of t    he     war.

 

so as to
get back 

into your
difference,

your
death.”

 

 

 

 

“No pertinent
fact has

been altered.
The drama

 

Ph     antom p     ain is de    fine     d as the      pain in      the miss     ing port     ion of th     e limb, an     d phant     om sens     ation defi     ned as the      persi     sting pre     sence of      the mis     sing lim     b. Differ     ent stud     ies have re     ported a w     ide rang     e of pre     valence      for this con     dition, repor     ted as oc     curring in for         ty-five to ei     ghty-five per     cent of peo     ple with am     putations.  

 

of the situation
being so real

that no fiction
was necessary.”

 

 

 

—    Oakland : 2025

 

 

 

David Buuck lives in Oakland, CA., from where he edits the journal and small press Tripwire (tripwirejournal.com). Books include Noise in the Face of (Roof, 2016), SITE CITE CITY (Futurepoem, 2015) An Army of Lovers, co-written with Juliana Spahr (City Lights, 2013), and The Riotous Outside (Commune Editions, 2018).