no mas, no more
babysitting
in the doctor’s house
waiting
for infection to clear
before the d & c,
the abortion.
When I woke
the nurse say, You
punched him,
you punched the doctor.
After a week, I flew
“home” – nyc.
October, 1967
I had missed the
March on the Pentagon
and used it as my excuse
for my week away.
I was 17
and the whole thing was
illegal:
the reference from the University Health Center
the loan from Carol
the plane flight to Puerto Rico
the taxi driver who dropped me
a block away
from the Women’s Hospital in Santurce
the procedure
the everything.
Breaking this law
Saved my life.
Tell it all:
I had already had Carol
jump on my stomach
and I tried to
roll myself down stairs.
This didn’t work.
Take care of a baby?!
I clearly couldn’t take care of myself!
…June, 2022.