Mandatory Mother

I learned to swim in waters of amoeba 
You shout "Regarde!" as I float to the surface
But it's far from Paris in this viscous river

Your hands of guidance turned to scoffs
Trading my pain for stacks of coins~
I no longer hear the crowds beg for mercy

Forced to nurse groupings of septic cells
My chest covered in ripples and blisters
The wet nurse of a generation of youth

Doctor, how come I must be a vessel?
Because my skirt fell above my knees
My womb is no factory of steel

All of this for more soldiers to train
For the crippling economy and labor
Why must your wealth stay tightly packed?

I will never earn my dress of white
Men of our nation will deem me impure
Forever a mandatory mother, never a wife

My body shall remain my own
Free of your legislature~
Copyright © | Year Posted 2026

Poem

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Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace