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Contemporary Voices
7 / 7 Bodily Invasion: Core Arts
'Something hurt, a bodily invasion
This was not a happy occasion
I could hear them having a conversation
Something about a complication?
Fear now danced with trepidation
How I'd love a mild sedation!
Suffering now from dehydration
I wanted an end to my gestation
Only three centimetres in my dilation!
I couldn't hide the pure frustration
Pangs of agony, nurse rotation
Hours and hours of preparation
Then it happened - activation!
Too late to make a cancellation
Several tries at inhalation
The midwife helped with navigation
And with resolve and determination
I saw the results of my creation
All I felt was tribulation
And settled down for relaxation.'
Suzanne Morris' poem was inspired by Every Birth It Comes Different (1980), published by Centerprise.
Image from Every Birth It Comes Different, 1980 © Black Star