‘it’s just a season,’
she says
as she rocks her newborn
in the middle of the night.

‘it’s just a season,’
she says
as she looks in the mirror
embarrassed at the body
she recently considered beautiful.

‘it’s just a season,’
she says
to the dreary march new england sky
waiting for the flowers to bloom
and hoping that she will too.

— kass mangione: “poemspartum: pregnancy, postpartum, motherhood, seasons (growth)” (2024)