Poetry Like Children

I use my inertia

like birth control

to prevent the conception

of any creative endeavor

that might be malformed or

lacking in an ability to care for itself.

I see each piece as a child that

I have brought into the world and –

like it or not - I must now nurture and care for it.

I will be remiss if I stuff it into a drawer,

fail to tend it, feed and clothe it.

I will be a neglectful parent,

a failure as a mother.

So I tie my tubes, slap a patch

on my yellow underbelly which will

suppress my ideas coming to maturation.

I refuse would-be lovers,

remain chaste, barren

and lonely.

~Andrine de la Rocha

posted 4/6/2011