Adam Tavel
An Engraving of a Woman Entering
an Abortion Clinic
Godefroy Engelmann, early 19th c.
the theme is shame :: a weary lapwing drooped
upon the stair, she’s far enough along
her belly shows :: crimson shawl, a parasol,
she’s stalled between her damages :: it stings,
this moment right before her secret knock
will creak the secret door to lead her down
an outlaw corridor of sighs :: she weeps
the attendant maudlin tears that always mar
inked archetypes :: let’s kerchief them and lift
her chin :: let’s call her dear Marie :: the day’s
a gray we may endure :: I’ll stuff her purse
with francs :: O sister wince and squeeze my hand ::
the drizzle fades :: Paris wakes at noon :: see how
each café awning drips its peridots
Adam Tavel is the author of five books of poetry, including the forthcoming Green Regalia (Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2022). His most recent collection, Catafalque, won the Richard Wilbur Award (University of Evansville Press, 2018). His recent poems appear, or will soon appear, in Ploughshares, The Georgia Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Ninth Letter, The Massachusetts Review, Copper Nickel, and Western Humanities Review, among others. You can find him online at http://adamtavel.com/.
Return to September 2021
an Abortion Clinic
Godefroy Engelmann, early 19th c.
the theme is shame :: a weary lapwing drooped
upon the stair, she’s far enough along
her belly shows :: crimson shawl, a parasol,
she’s stalled between her damages :: it stings,
this moment right before her secret knock
will creak the secret door to lead her down
an outlaw corridor of sighs :: she weeps
the attendant maudlin tears that always mar
inked archetypes :: let’s kerchief them and lift
her chin :: let’s call her dear Marie :: the day’s
a gray we may endure :: I’ll stuff her purse
with francs :: O sister wince and squeeze my hand ::
the drizzle fades :: Paris wakes at noon :: see how
each café awning drips its peridots
Adam Tavel is the author of five books of poetry, including the forthcoming Green Regalia (Stephen F. Austin State University Press, 2022). His most recent collection, Catafalque, won the Richard Wilbur Award (University of Evansville Press, 2018). His recent poems appear, or will soon appear, in Ploughshares, The Georgia Review, Beloit Poetry Journal, Ninth Letter, The Massachusetts Review, Copper Nickel, and Western Humanities Review, among others. You can find him online at http://adamtavel.com/.
Return to September 2021