Written by Lee Fraser
can I groan without
implying
others’ needs
are a drop in a bucket
weep without
swiping attention
from someone else
relieve myself
while others ache
with/out
their babies?
I stall, reluctant to cut in front of
the news the obits the parent
with two more children than me or
one less
than they hoped for
don’t want a pissing contest but
I am busting
.
Lee Fraser is from Aotearoa, New Zealand, was a field linguist in Papua New Guinea and Kenya in her 20s, collided with domesticity in Aotearoa during her 30s, and later rediscovered health through writing. She uses poetry for ogling life’s details, emotional archaeology, and comic relief, sometimes all at once. Some of her 50+ published/forthcoming pieces are at leefraserpoetry.com or Instagram @leefraserpoetry