Summary

Poem 155. First person. The speaker writes about the double standard when it comes to discussing a woman’s body (which is okay) as opposed to how it works (i.e. menstruation, which is not okay). Drawing: an imaginative representation of vines shaped to resemble a woman’s legs and genital area, with some of the vine’s leaves dropping like drops of blood from what seems to be the vagina.

Poem 156. Referring to “you” as either herself or the reader, the speaker suggests that “you” were powerful before “he” came, and will remain so long after he has gone.

Poem 157. First person. The speaker apologizes to all the women she has thought of, or called, pretty, as though their genetically-origined appearance was all that mattered. From now on, she says, she will use terms that celebrate strength, rather than looks. Drawing...