Culpability
by Joyce Kessel
twenty years later the end result is the same
& I realize only now
probably justified
yet it isn’t just the finality of the decision
to slash away at our femininity
that haunts my sensibilities and consciousness
that gnaws at the scars of my anger for you
but the contrast in the process
of the gentle men & gentle women
who listen and discuss
who share their worries & concerns
who weigh the options with us
who offer empathy & hope
rather than the callousness of a medical power butcher
that declared you
old and useless and unnecessary
a woman barely salvageable
a procedure not a name
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