arrogance in the universe

I love Lucille Clifton for a lot of reasons, but one of the things I love about her poetry is that she just never pulls her punches even a little, and it's pretty glorious. Today this poem is dedicated to the cramps I've had for two days, and also, like, Andrew Cuomo.

i wish them cramps.
i wish them a strange town
and the last tampon.
I wish them no 7-11.

i wish them one week early
and wearing a white skirt.
i wish them one week late.

later i wish them hot flashes
and clots like you
wouldn't believe. let the
flashes come when they
meet someone special.
let the clots come
when they want to.

let them think they have accepted
arrogance in the universe,
then bring them to gynecologists
not unlike themselves.

—Lucille Clifton (1936-2010), "wishes for sons" from Quilting: Poems 1987-1990.