She Walked Out

Renee Emerson

She Walked Out

Drew a line through her name,
signed beside the date and time.
Tossed the form. She meant
to discard whatever it was
growing in her, making her
tired, making her sick.‍

The clinic sold a tidy removal,
back on track, back to school,
the clock hands pushed in reverse.‍

Gone--one ballerina or astronaut
or teacher--quick and easy, over
and done, and then forget
the heartbeat flickering
on the screen like a lit match
held too close to uncertain breath.‍

Her new life slid open
with the glass door.
She will learn to shoulder
this work, will find her stride.
I walk because she walked out.

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She Walked Out is the first of an ongoing series of monthly commissioned poems. The poems will be published in a chapbook to be distributed at culture of life events across the country.