Afterbirth
What was left in the sink was blood
so pink and pale it looked bloodless
perhaps they call that tissue
two weeks after giving birth
B said
she stood up from cramps
and hemorrhaged
four cups of blood onto the carpet
in the bathroom alone she gave birth
to the remainder of her son
the strength of women’s bodies
no longer surprises me
rather the unconscious capacity of the mind
to accept and move on
as though all that happens to a woman
can be eventually absorbed
or dealt with silently
by her own hands
ELEANOR GOODMAN is the author of the poetry collection Nine Dragon Island, and the translator of five books from Chinese. She is a Research Associate at the Harvard University Fairbank Center and a recent recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.