the plaster bulged 
like a huge 
pregnant belly, or 

a cyst. cracked 
like a dry 
knuckle. I reached 

out my hands 
like I could 
catch whatever fell 

from it. shouted 
like it could 
listen. the water 

poured like an 
omen. I woke 
cloaked in sweat, 

one hand on 
my plaster womb, 

one hand on 
my pouring chest



____

Kaleigh O’Keefe is a gender outlaw and proud union member living in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Their poetry has appeared in Breaking the Chains: a Socialist Perspective on Women’s Liberation, Slamfind, won the PRIDE Poetry Prize in Passengers Journal, and is featured on indie music legend Ceschi’s album Sans Soleil. Kaleigh is a contributor and editor for Liberation News, is a co-founder of Game Over Books, and hosts the First Fridays Youth Open Mic in Jamaica Plain. Find Kaleigh on the web at www.kaleighokeefe.com and on instagram at @kaleigh.okeefe.poetry @FirstFridaysJP @GameOverBooks