Open Letter to the Developer of the X-Ray
Kelly Boyker
Dear Professor Rontgen:
An African chameleon crawled down my throat and lodged
in my lungs. It was merely trying to contact its dead. Now,
if my body is placed between the discharge tube and the
screen, the outline of a prehensile tale is visible within the
shadow of my lungs. What is also visible: stamped bore,
indent markings, lead pellet, double barrels. Memo to body:
I possess photographs of the bones of the head, a wire
wound spool, a metal compass. What is killing the patient is
less graceful than a bullet and sharper than a nail. Professor
Rontgen, sir, concentrate please on moving in circles,
contemplate sticky rhizomes, pay attention to the weight of
the cathode tube on the edge of the bed. So what if you
can prove a mummy’s secrets or locate a nail within a
child’s hand when you cannot cut the creature from my
body? Even I can produce evidence, both photographic
and anecdotal, that it has three toes.
Sincerely,
Wurzberg, Germany
1895
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