medicine denied
mother of necessity
returns with resolve

homegrown herbal teas
pennyroyal mugwort
become black market toll

point of a hanger
we’ll tear out our wombs
throw ourselves down staircases

solder our vaginas shut
expediency
our only choice now

we’ll deliver them
then smother them at birth
bury the unwanted

leave them out in the cold
toss them in the sea
fill baby boxes

roast them broil them boil them
feed them to the homeless
ashes for the lawn

regress of method
primitive options reclaimed
killing
still borne out

By Lisa Borkovich, Hamilton, Ontario – Canada

About the Author

Lisa Borkovich’s writing has appeared in various journals and anthologies over the years and shortlisted in numerous writing contests. In 2023, “Lovesong of Grindstone Marsh,” was shortlisted in the Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest and appeared in The New Quarterly, Issue 168. Other writings like “this escarpment” received an Honorable Mention in Hamilton Arts & Letters Short Works Prize for Poetry; “chedoke falls tree,” received an Honorable Mention in The Ontario Poetry Association’s The World Around Us Anthology, and “On Grieving” was published in Alchemy and Miracles (Gilbert and Hall Press. Her short fiction, “Dragon in the Mirror” appeared online in Dark Winter Literary Magazine. Borkovich resides in Hamilton, Ontario, in a home nestled between the Niagara escarpment and Lake Ontario.

Feature Photo by Pixababy

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