The Produce Section Doesn’t Know I’m Postpartum
it can’t understand why I’m crying over lettuce
red leaf or green–what could it matter?
Just one of a thousand small decisions in a day
one of a thousand little mistakes
tiny failures
nothing comes easy but failure, it seems
the apples weren’t there when I spilled pumped breast milk this morning
–three ounces gone in an instant; tragedy–
and even if they were, would they have cared?
Apples have their own problems
mealworms, maybe
a changing climate for sure
like me, they’ll have to learn to be hardier
if they want to survive
© Claire Taylor
Claire Taylor works as Licensed Massage Therapist specializing in prenatal and postpartum care. Her poetry has been published in Yellow Arrow Journal, and her writing about motherhood and depression has appeared on Scary Mommy. She is the creator of Little Thoughts, a monthly newsletter featuring original stories and poems for children. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland and can be found online at clairemtaylor.com.
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