Poem of the Week: Wreck, me. By Westley Penland

Good morning! Today's poem of the week is Wreck, me. By Westley Penland. This poem is one I heard Saturday at the Open Mic at Nifty Beet in Columbus, IN and was absolutely blown away by it. Check out the poem below, and make sure to grab a copy of Westley’s debut chapbook, Confirmation of Life, when it drops December 7th!

Wreck, me.

Getting a hysterectomy

In a week

But this uterine wall has a history of wrecking me

Had me weak

For awhile

There was a time when these bones

yearned to be split

to allow new life to

cling to its first breath.

Long are the days of those longings

but as these days of finality

draw closer

I think of the fetus that never grew human teeth

The one I lost at 13

the one that knew the hate it was spawned from

that has scraped its DNA into the walls

etched like tally marks in a prison cell,

At the time I couldn’t tell

but

I think of the anger my body has held

I think of the electrical currents

That have signaled to me

Time and time again

That something was very wrong

That something doesn’t belong

A fork stabbing with bent in prongs

Currents flowing with violent song

This part of me

Grew me up faster than I could grasp

Hooked into me with no intent to pass

Until I remove it from my body

At last, at last

I say these things with delight

But I would be remiss

If I didn’t get a little lost

In all of my what ifs

How will my life be spent

If I never become a parent?

Is it indecent to not cement

Yourself to another life?

Because there’s no going back

There’s no reverse on this

I will exist in a world

That I don’t extend beyond

In flesh, blood, and legacy

My life and all the cycles

it ‘s been through

Will be broken

For good.

Cut out this womb

That has been repeating

Cycles of history

Since before my age was double digited

Lay to rest

this

Abdominal shackle

This

ball and chain

To freedom I’ve only dreamed of

Give me peace

Please, Give me peace.