I've only known my body in terms of

"Healthy"

"Sex–y."

Breasts
something to be smoothed and propped with a push-up
bra. The uterus     ignored
next to its flashy cousin: clitoris.

But now I am witnessing
Ovulation—>Jubilation—>Gestation—>
and petit fours

passed

with this advice:

Have him massage your vagina——widen it——every night.

Toughen your nipples now. Chafe with a twisted towel.

Don't worry: some women can't help but defecate during childbirth.

Another manipulation
of these bodies>our temples>our currencies:
from splayed/sprayed HAIR on the first date
to "It's-easier-this-way-with-a-bab" buzz cut.
Greek girls used to cl–ip their hair before marriage,

signifying sacrifice.

Is childbearing now a woman's sacrifice?

Liberation

or Occupation,

which way will I vote?

I lean against the door,
watch her hips shift as she tries to sit

down

comfortably

watch her the way a child watches grass grow,

and I swear I see it, I do:
her rib cage pelvis separating spreading to make room,
bone pulling from bone

self separating from self.

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