circular staircase

Nurse brings in African violets
purple tinged with white

A gift she says to all the patients
In the maternity ward

How nice I say
I’m recovering from my hysterectomy
Feeling better than I thought I would
Feeling lighter

Unburdened from
Sudden blood and constant pain
I’d waited so long

to let go of this truculent uterus, my red hot poker ovaries

Treading through
Surgeries and birth control
Holding on for menopause
By my overnight super maxi with wings

Before just letting go
Falling away from tumors
Leaving scar tissue
In my wake

The chaplain stops by to offer
Prayers and congratulations
For the babies I’ll never have
I’m quiet

Turning to my pot of violets
With its purple bleeding into white
And I said goodbye