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a good woman would never

By Sylvia Beato

for years you told no one
how you cried yourself to sleep
after the doctor held your hand
“are you sure about this?”

how you cried yourself to sleep
while blood poured down your legs
“are you sure about this?”
and protestors booed outside the clinic

while blood poured down your legs
you stopped believing in god
and protesters booed outside the clinic
because a good woman would never

you stopped believing in god
“are you sure about this?”
because a good woman would never
for years you told no one
Added: Thursday, May 18, 2017  /  Used with permission. Third place award recipient in the Sixth Annual Abortion Rights Poetry Contest (2017).
Sylvia Beato
Photo by Lauren Davis.

Sylvia Beato is a writer and an educator.

Her work revolves around the phenomenology of the body, the politics of linguistics, and post-colonial identity. Her research interests focus on how youth use language to understand and navigate their position as first or second generation Americans. Centered primarily in Spanish-English bilingual spaces, she is committed to understanding ways in which culture shapes language use and change.
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She lives in Brooklyn with her wife and their dog.

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