The Handsome Doctor

Iona Lee

The Handsome Doctor

has his arm around me.
He is ultra-sounding my kidneys.

I’ve got my dress tucked into my bra, and my pants
pulled down—just a little. A tasteful amount.

I’m a medical mystery.
I’ve been bled and poked and fondled,
but I’m being very brave.

Take a big breath in, he says, and hand-in-hand
we gaze through the convex porthole
into my deep-blue depths.

I give him a quick tour of my wispiest outlines.
The grey waving fronds of me.
We are sonar and heartbeat.

I’ve never been this intimate with a man before, I say.
Doctor, tell me, am I a woman in the shape of a lava lamp,
or is it the other way around?

Your kidneys,
he says, turning those searchlight eyes on me.
       They’re beautiful.

And with this most warm-blooded of words,
I grab him by the lanyard, and we make love in the ultrasound jelly.

First published in Issue #32

Iona Lee is a poet, artist, and performer from Edinburgh. She has been a prominent member of Scotland’s live poetry scene for over a decade, appearing on radio and television and performing her work in venues and on festival stages all over the UK and Europe. Her critically acclaimed debut collection, Anamnesis, was published by Polygon in 2023.