Two Poems by Kelly O'Rourke
/Menstrua Shun: [shun = (.)]
unlucky monthly / femin / posi / (.) /
uter / (impure) / ine / untouch / avoid men /
communal bathing / banned from the kitch / (.) /
swift ex- tradi / (.) / ex-communica / (.) /
in muddy blood huts / in lonely stone sheds /
in rocky closets / birth isola / (.) /
doors blocked from predators /
tiger / snake poison /
neighbors’ intru / (.) /
despite the hiding / curse apprehension /
cold / fire burning / (asphyxia / (.))
Baby Doe (State of Tennessee)
Author’s Note: Menstrua Shun: [shun = (.)] was inspired by news articles regarding the practice of chhaupadi: pronounced (CHOW-pa-dee), from Nepali words that mean “someone who bears an impurity.” There are few locations where isolation of the women away from the home is still practiced, and it is now actually illegal. I wanted to incorporate the sonic endings “-tion” or “-sion” of the words with the meaning of “being shunned,” and also the grammatical symbol of the period to represent this.
Source that inspired this piece: “Where a Taboo Is Leading to the Deaths of Young Girls”
After reading the collection Whereas, by Layli Long Soldier, I used as source material for Baby Doe (State of Tennessee) a legal document shared on social media from the State of Tennessee’s proceedings against Purdue Pharma and others. I decided to crop excerpts and create erasure poems echoing themes observed in Whereas of how larger entities and structures impact individual lives, especially regarding access to healthcare and risk of mortality from unsafe living conditions, in this case, relating to the opioid crisis and its continuation through the life of a newborn, the next generation. Having been personally impacted on multiple levels through losses as a result of the opioid epidemic, I wanted to highlight the language points that reflect how this now decade and a half-long public health tragedy continues to intergenerationally affect our society and its future.
Source that inspired this piece: State of Tennessee (Circuit Court of Cumberland County at Crossville, Tennessee) and Baby Doe vs. Purdue Pharma et al, second amended complaint filed 4/1/19.
Kelly O’Rourke is a poet and teacher. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing and MA in English from San Francisco State University. Her work has been published in the USA, UK, Italy, Hong Kong and Ireland, including in Crab Orchard Review, The Hong Kong Review, HCE Review, The A3 Review, Transfer Magazine, VIA: Voices in Italian Americana and others, and can be found at: www.kellyaorourke.com.
