What It Means To Be A Woman
Lin Max

you won't touch or call it by name yet
but this part of your body --
this part of your body
you're going to get to know
better than your elbow
you're going to love it
and hate it
this part of your body
will drip and dew
attracting hunters and slaves
this part of your body
will keep you off the streets after dark
it will be poked and spread by stainless steel
scrutinized by strangers with scalpels
behind white drapes
as if were not a part of you
this part of your body will stretch
over the heads of human beings
or tighten to a finger in its gentle rhythm
this part of your body
is more expressive than your mouth
this part of your body
laughs louder
has its own exhausted grimace
this part of your body moans
its lonely emptiness
you will spend your life trying to fill
this part of your body