WOMEN

We arrive with our eggs
carried like loose change
until time and sperm meet
and a baby grows where
nothing has lived before.

We cast the best eggs first
save lesser ones for later
like unmarried daughters
the non-chosen cells - still
awaiting Mr.Right.

The price for children is pain
mental and physical.
Childbirth is the well-kept secret
of forcing a bowling ball
through a buttonhole.

Unmentioned too are cramps which
yield only to tub, hot pad
or drugs - the feeling of one’s
innards being yanked out
like a dropped transmission.

And Lizzie Borden days when PMS
changes our minds to war zones.
Anger and profanity replace finer
feeling and a flat tire is reason
to call the suicide hotline.

Did I choose the wrong gender?
I wonder until 20 hours in
when they hand me you, made in me.
A miracle to erase
the memory of pain.

 

Comments

6 responses to “WOMEN”

  1. Marti White Avatar

    This expresses so well the pain and joy of mother-hood. As I grow older, the joy of having grown children and grandchildren makes the experience all the sweeter.

    Like

  2. Suze Avatar
    Suze

    I love it Cindy so true to life.

    Like

  3. Jill Miller Avatar
    Jill Miller

    I love all your poems, Cindy! This one in particular touched me. ❤️

    Love, Jill

    On Wed, Jun 3, 2020 at 9:40 AM A WELL-TRAVELED HEART wrote:

    > Cynthia M. Sheward posted: ” We arrive with all our eggs carried like > loose change until time and sperm meet and a baby grows where nothing has > lived before. We cast the best eggs first save lesser ones for later like > unmarried daughters spinster cells – homely but good at ho” >

    Like

  4. Cynthia M. Sheward Avatar

    Thank you, Jill.

    Like

  5. Cynthia M. Sheward Avatar

    Thank you, Suze.

    Like

  6. Cynthia M. Sheward Avatar

    Thank you. Children and grandchildren are our riches.

    Like

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