As a lusty young woman in my early fertile years, I was sometimes careless during intimate encounters.
I regretted my impulsivity during nerve-wracking waits,
Weeks afterward when I was irregularly “late.”

To avoid contributing to our burgeoning population,
I sought preventive measures to a possible fertilization.
I cautiously contemplated taking The Pill,
99.9 percent effective they said, But still …

I don’t like pills, or their side effects.
IUDs claimed 98 percent;
that should do the trick.
I was advised to choose the Dalken Shield
The newest device in the contraceptive field.

But 5 years later, after it was officially recalled,
I scheduled with my GYN, to have it uninstalled.
He recommended a Lippe’s Loop IUD
And deftly inserted one inside of me.

That serpentine, white plastic invention
Was a discreetly reliable uterine intervention.
It served me well for 38 years.
Just the thought of its absence brought me to tears.

Wouldn’t I feel vulnerable without the protection
Which allowed me to dodge Darwin’s Natural Selection?
But I reminded myself, at age 65
It was highly unlikely my leftover eggs were alive.

So, with heels in steel stirrups, bracing myself
The old Loop was pulled out, with a GYN’s help.
Secured in a shadow box with pearl-tipped pins,
It hangs with sincere reverence on a wall in my den.

Written by Pat Bonner Milone – Redland, Florida