Swans Commentary »
March 13, 2006
by Laura Madeline Wiseman
Poetry
(Swans - March 13, 2006)
What was thy pity's recompense? ~Byron
You've stood cowering in a corner of the basement.
A black fist mark blooming on the swell of your belly.
A fat lip shining and oozing a slim trail of blood.
You're naked and I can see the body's betrayal.
The hemorrhoids pushed out by an accidental pregnancy.
The unused and then overused ligaments hobbling you.
The disappointing, perpetual sag of all that is woman.
The pubic hair has grayed. The scabrous patches
where you kneel into the chains to ease your suffering.
How I want to bring you cotton garments and milk coffee,
show you to the shower to wash off these thirty years.
How mad you've become, been, and I pity this too.
That even as I hand you a sweater you scratch my arms
and poke out my eyeballs which only reignites my resolve.
I give you hiking pants and you yank my hair and punch
in my stomach only to pause momentarily on my breasts
and then kick each one all the while cawing and cooing.
This is my fault, I say, I'm sorry. Please don't be mad,
the rock below my lips piss stained and slick with feces.
You stomp on my face until I come to hating you
and say as much. And then you're whimpering again,
trying to smooth out the rosette bruises on your thigh.
He did this to me, you say, and this. And I can't say it
was three decades ago because I see how you're hurting.
Instead, I hand over socks and my own panties and bra
and hope this time you won't pick out my liver and eat it.
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Internal Resources
Poetry
America the 'beautiful'
About the Author
Laura Madeline Wiseman is an adjunct professor at the University of
Arizona. Her works have appeared in 13th Moon, The Comstock Review,
Paper Street, and other publications. She is an editor for IntheFray and
Empowerment4Women.
Legalese
Please, feel free to insert a link to this work on your Web site or to disseminate its URL on your favorite lists, quoting the first paragraph or providing a summary. However, please DO NOT steal, scavenge, or repost this work on the Web or any electronic media. Inlining, mirroring, and framing are expressly prohibited. Pulp re-publishing is welcome -- please contact the publisher. This material is copyrighted, © Laura Madeline Wiseman 2006. All rights reserved.
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