Post-extraction

i told him i was difficult
to numb
he said no problem

and let me sit
for ten minutes
stewing with injections

then i said i don’t think
I am totally numb;
he and the assistant

replied don’t worry;
we’ll get you numb;
immediately they started

extracting without
more numbing; he cooed
good girl as he yanked

and struggled yanked
and struggled until
it was out

and that was when
the hole the new hole
began in me

i am writing from
that hole now
the crater that tattooed

the Earth has something
to offer us; I don’t even
know how to feel bad

about medical abuse
because it has become
a saga and at least this time

there was a small victory–
I made a choice about
my body and men

honored it, not by the terms
I would have preferred
but at least there’s that

freedom from my own decay;
how alert and angry I am
for this blood I drink.

April March Penn is a queer poet who visits Anne Sexton’s grave and conducts tarot readings for real and imaginary friends. Follow April March on Instagram: @pennapril

Bill Wolak has just published his fifteenth book of poetry entitled The Nakedness Defense with Ekstasis Editions. His collages have appeared recently in Naked in New Hope 2018, The 2019 Seattle Erotic Art Festival, Poetic Illusion, The Riverside Gallery, Hackensack, NJ, the 2019 Dirty Show in Detroit, 2018 The Rochester Erotic Arts Festival, and The 2018 Montreal Erotic Art Festival.