Janette Hoppe #36 Women's Business (1)

it is all women's business
that sacred stuff
blood and birth
the business of the womb
the living, the lost ones
the ones left in shoe boxes
that stuff never leaves you
the scars left behind
etched in the womb and on the mind
last a life time

it is all women's business
that blood stuff
moods and menopause
hormones and child birth
the shape of a swollen belly
the shape of a flat belly,
the childless belly, the baron belly
that stuff never leaves you
the scars left behind
etched in the skin and on the mind
last a life time

it is all women's business
that feeding business
breast is best
everyone weighing in
with their opinion
the curve of the breast
and afterward -
the way they hang from your chest
like some old footy socks
the scars left behind
sometimes cut away or completely off
that stuff never leaves you
etched in the skin and on the mind
last a life time
especially when that life is cut short

it is all women's business.