Ampulex compressa
poetry by lenora cole
Ampulex compressa
the jewel wasp is solitary
territorial
a devout
cuckoo-mother
who wants the best
for her young
i have learned that ovaries
are measured by milliliters and
one is usually larger in volume
never mind that
my right side is scarred from
electrocauterisation
two pin-prick stings
turn movement
into stillness
she leash-drags her
unwilling
sacrificial womb to
the birthing chamber
and pebble by pebble
entombs it
"nice and fertile" is my
age descriptor from the technician
cervix-probed and
averagely-sized uterus
eight centimeters
my future measured in
incubation
in eight days
the cockroach is a
husk of slowly-devoured
non-essential organs
the self-disciplined
offspring saves the best
for last
a second surgery may
effect my ability to fall
pregnant
"by who?"
intent is for people
without eggs
while mine are
eating me alive
lenora cole
lenora cole is an emerging poet from Queensland, Australia. Her work has appeared in print in Australian Poetry Anthology, The Tundish Review, Jacaranda, and Concrescence, and online in Umbel & Panicle, Déraciné, and several hundred fools.