Her body in three parts

Part I: my own

My body runs on moon time

                most of ours does

the silver glowing night light does its thing

so i do mine, which mostly means

i take a pill every night

ive also been trying to switch to a diva cup

but it doesn't fit up there right

so doing my thing also means shoving white bleached cotton

that has none of the moon's sliver glow

up into my body

most of the time 

i dont think about pregnancy

except when i walk to the CVS

in single digits

to get a pregnancy test

and wait for the line to die down 

heave it on to the counter

and walk to Cubs to use the bathroom 

because its more auspicious

the CVS guy would for sure know what i was up to

and the heat in my cheeks

is burning me

it is too hot for me to stay in one place

i am light years ahead thinking about 

how i would deal with a plus sign

how rotten my gut has turned

so fast

--------------------------------

Part II: My 16-year-old student's

her body has been gnawed at

and wrung out 

but she still holds her self solid 

she digs at her arm

where the teeth of an implant

have sunk all the way in

and she claws and pinches

skin and metal

see? if you can mess it up

real good

it won't work!

my 16 year old white body

that grew up in rural wisconsin

which now has come to rest

in my 23 year old white body

is astounded

my eyeballs have come out of sockets

like in saturday morning cartoons

and I ask her why she would want the birth control

to not work

she

is an ice cube

so cool she is taking care

of the sun on my hot cheeks

she says real fast

she wants to get pregnant

my audacious ass

asks why

she has gotten as many pregnancy tests

as the cuts on her arm

as if she is keeping track there

she has gotten as many

from the nurse as possible

so i ask why

and she says 

so i wont be alone

-------------------------------

Part III: My mother's

my mothers body

is a battlefield

that has been burned down 

and turned into a prairie

there are all sorts of remedies and fruits that grow there

and it has become part of an incredible ecosystem

that breathes so much life

it might take off into the sky

there was a plus sign woven

into the fabric of teenage sweatshirts

and written in her curls

she cradled it

mostly alone

she once

had to jump light years ahead too

make decisions she shouldn't have

make life happen

too soon

make magic happen too soon

and then again

and then again

and my sister who feels

like a cousin 

and my brother 

and I 

are here.

Her body is a spine

and thighs 

and strength

and grace

and her teeth

and her smile

is moonlight

it is the goofiest

and the loveliest

i have ever seen

it is the i am still here

and getting my doctorate

at st. thomas 

even though i live in wisconsin

and I have been a science teacher

and a principal

and an admistrator

and a leader in equity

and my body has created three  other people

her body has been made by the moon 

AND the stars

she is the creator

she is holy

-------------------------------------------

I dont believe in god

as you might

but I believe

in magic 

in the female body

and anyone who 

identifies 

as womyn

and i believe in the power

that we have to sew

together our society

weave bodies

into the tapestry 

of communities

and I believe in my students 

right to choose her path

in her right to find

comfort and community in a place

other than her womb

but also her right to find comfort

in her womb

and her mother woven body

for she is magic still

and there is moonlight that comes from a place

not limited to our wombs

but in our life line

for she is me

and I am her

and our body

is the only goddess 

I know of