The first time I bleed abroad,
I am thinking of sunlight.
Florida weather reaches up into my uterus, with warm humid fingers.
I am counting all the times I could have been a mother instead.
I conjure up a false sense of relief that flickers in the face of reality—
to be a success and capitalist and woman is to forfeit.
I don’t know, but everything changed, and everything stayed perfectly the same.
I have flown away from home and stayed put all the same.
The clouds hang low—heavy, waiting to break
I ache at all the decisions I have not made.
Kina Indongo is a Namibian communications professional and poet. She has over five years of experience in corporate communications and media relations. A 2023 Mandela Washington Fellow, she holds a degree in media studies and English literature.