Volume V, Issue 1 - Winter 2006 - "Memory"

Poets: Rachel Mallino

From the Editors | Feature | Spotlight | Poets | Reviews | Yawp

The Shame of My Womanhood

Our house reeked of bleach--
counter-tops and tile floors slippery
from the lick of its yellow tongue.
Bed sheets iron-straight, tucked
corners, rough as callused hands.
 
When it came like raspberries
bursting between a child’s fingers,
I became petrified of the stain.
 
Panties full of ripe blood
made their way between mattress
and box-spring.
 
Hid cramp’s twisting pain
behind shushed lips. Nothing
too out of the ordinary.
 
When mother decided to strip
my bed, her hands slid
between mattresses like a doctor
between the strapped legs of a woman.
 
There was no explaining, only screams
which seemed monstrous, playing
patty-cake against the walls.

Rachel Mallino ©2005

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