Little Bottle Producing Nothing

the drumming in my ear was a toybanged by a monkeysomething big was about to happen

and laterindefinable outer handsthe woman at the clinic held myI'm not sorry—the earth knows what to dowith a small bio-waste bag

———

the sun above wilts benevolently

the soul passes out shellackedun-natural and later-ona grown man inmy own delightful packagemen thought always of womenas beautiful packaging

———

overpopulated planettest-tube and entopic earthdestroyedbut earth had no genderwhen the symbols were made tree of life snake planetreproducing

when in labor Eve recounted she had spent fifty hoursexplain the huge number without parentswe're too busyproving our genes           beef meaty American

what makes a child one's ownwhat makes a parent?

———

I sit on the sun patch in the sheet grassparked with no fertilitysmoothing lotion into my feet       who else would do thisbut a mother?

admire the strong legs hard muscleson either side of the kneewith its soft brown haira friend tells me she enjoys shavingbecause it makes her feel publicpubic hair gets moved out of the way of the crownpushing slit through all its symbolism

when my legs are no longer strongwho will take care of me?—this dark room that smellsholds its hands over its lapunmarried unmovedinto

ask if Eve had skipped outon the pain of childbearingwould men make her pain eventually?

———

months drift quietly byeggs unnumberedpass sea orphanagesfailing to attach to the rocky plumage

have one son at leastone man to whom one canremain visible

———

little girl who digs with a stickso intently in the dirtwhat will you bea farmer?

we stick the head of a babydoll inshe comes over laughssomething beautiful in Polish at me

her face says that earlywe're taught to take inhold the doll as thoughbiological unavoidable

of how do I love thee let me reckonoff the reasons you left meto raise a child with another woman—

one tilted cervixtwo narrow hips good for runningbad for birthing with and yet

for you I might have been driven to the hospital looked on by the face of lovetelling midwifery surgeons fill the needlespolish me something wrapped upnext to the other lumps               don't forget us

when she can no longer beardoes she turn on her heellike a sununcrossing its legsunlike every other woman on the subway.