Endometriosis

[staciamberdawn]

Hello three name girl, welcome to the site.
Aha, the "Vagina Monologues" via menstruation.
The thing that really jumped out and confused me was the use of the word "barren". Although I understand it can have a meaning that is something akin to fallow, that is not the general connotation, nor the one that came to mind for me. Initially this caused me confusion as I took it to mean incapable of producing. Also it appeared the character was blaming her period for not having had sex for four months. However a painful period does not mean painful sex. Certainly if one was talking about large cysts (ovarian cysts) these can make sex painful all the time, but there was nothing to indicate that this was a condition of this character. So while I enjoyed the raging, it seemed somewhat unfounded. It could be she is the victim of a massive hormonal dump and this is what is making her somewhat hyperbolic in her language usage and irrational in the focus of her hate. This is quite understandable given the circumstances, however if such is true, it cannot be left unsaid, so in some subtle way, mention it; decent poems can be ruined by the lack of necessary contextual background. There are the means of a good poem here.
Best,
Dale

Hey Dale,
Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated
I definitely understand your points, in the poem itself the reasoning for lack of intercourse and infertility are not expressed specifically. This is why I entitled the poem Endometriosis. This is a condition where tissue that typically grows inside the uterus, starts to grow outside the uterus. It's very painful, particularly during menstration and typically causes pain during sex and infertility. The piece is meant to be spoken by the woman in the throws  of her period under pain and particularly hormonal rage like you mentioned.
I didn't want to divulge the details of the condition in the poem because being in that moment I felt the woman would not necessarily blame outright the condition but more so her body, her period for putting her in this position, etc. As women we're not necessarily known for our rationale during this time of the month :p I wanted a bit of subtlety
I hope that provides a little more insight for you
Thanks again,
Three name girl.