Ovary

I left my ovary on the subway last night.

Stepped out. Felt light.

Heard the doors close behind me,

and realized I’d left my ovary behind.

 

If there was an honest person left

in New York, maybe they would return it.

But you can get 2000 dollars for an egg,

at least that’s what the Village Voice says.

And with enough eggs in there

to last me a lifetime, whoever found it

is going to be rich.

 

I reported my ovary lost the next day.

The woman who answered

the phone said,

“We’ve got lots of hearts,

livers, kidneys, and brains,

but no ovary.”

 

“No ovary? I asked, “Please,

would you look again?”

 

She sighed, but, then being a woman,

I guess she did understand.

 

“What did it look like?”

 

“Like a walnut, kind of shriveled and red.”

 

“What did it contain?”

 

“All my unborn children,

my mother’s smile and my father’s laugh,

my sister’s tongue and my crooked teeth,

but also the potential for genius . . .”

 

There was a pause on the other end,

then she said, “I’ll be right back.”

 

But when she returned, she said

there was nothing like my ovary

there, but I should call back.

 

I called the next morning

and it was the same woman.

 

“You?  Well, today

I have one limb, and one liver

in pretty bad condition.”

 

“Anything else?”

 

“A human head.”

 

“Is it Leary’s?”

 

“Yes, he’s dead. But I’ve got a long braid of hair,

a couple of kneecaps, a stomach that’s full, but

quickly becoming empty. But no ovary,

no ovary,” she said.

 

If there was an honest person left

in New York, maybe they would return it.

But you can get 2000 dollars for an egg,

at least that’s what the Village Voice says.

 

But still I call every morning,

and it’s always the same woman.

She tells me about all the pieces

of people she finds missing

and I tell her about all the pieces

of me I have lost and have not found yet.

 

[TFW Editors’ Note: January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month.

This poem is the first of several posts on cervical health. Oophorectomy–which carries both risks and some benefits–is sometimes recommended for women at high risk for cervical cancer.]