parthogenesis
 
I
As conception begins
within the cerebellum,
her eyelids clamp down
to contain those syllables
that threaten to spill,
to reveal themselves
too soon, and
her mouth struggles through
variations of the vowel
"wvvy."

II
She wonders if
the occipital lobe bulges
out as her second trimester
ascends. Her
cravings for feotid marigolds,
and the taste of rusty spoons
finally dissipate, but she
cannot shake the
cadre of gelatinous
pink willendorfs
on the periphery.
 
III
Her head bows
under the increasing weight
of intellectual fecundity.
The uterus slumbers
while her mind finally contracts
with the effort to
expel the inspiration.
Her pen is a scalpel,
cuts away the psychic caul
and the Word is revealed…
 
She clutches the poem
to her heart.
Inevitably, it will
evolve into someone else,
but this moment
belongs to her.
 
Previously published in Triplopia 2005