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Abstract

In Prose Poetry: An Introduction (2020), Cassandra Atherton and Paul Hetherington suggest that ‘prose’ within a prose poem “becomes a revitalized medium that focuses less on a narrative’s progress” and more on how “language itself, and its ways of making meaning, may be understood newly and differently.” This creative work—a prose poem—offers a brief meditation on the themes of women’s bodies, reproductive rights and self-determination. The subject muses on a series of unlike yet connected moments in time, and on the sense of bewildering wonderment that extends from conflicting possibilities. As with the prose poem's refusal to present a contained, straightforward or singular narrative, the woman identifies the fact of a difficult choice, yet is grateful to be allowed that choice.