by the fourth estrogen injection
I look down to the needle, then look up
pink flowers in the courtyard
how can I tell you about
the difference between these flowers
and this needle, the point and the petals
how can I tell you about
the pink outside
rosy ruddy blushing raw
approaching red but never being red
how can I tell you
about the needle
approaching my skin, entering my abdomen easy as
if it were designed for this very moment ( it was )
how can I tell you about the difference between these
two things, in the morning’s shadows ‘n spectres
the soft and the sharp the
warm translucent life and
the cool opaque metal yes,
the blooms, and yes, the prick
how can I tell you
it’s not sexy but
it is reproductive
dear, dear bougainvillea
how can I tell you
the pink is not of
some generic
female called ‘girl’
is not a point is
supple rosy roar
Nadia Rhook is a white settler historian, educator, and poet. She currently lectures history at the University of Western Australia, on Whadjuk Noongar land. Her poems appear in journals including Cordite, Westerly, and The Enchanting Verses, and her first poetry monograph, ‘boots’, is forthcoming with UWA Publishing 2020.
