Growing Up and Liking It

At 13 years of age, a pamphlet

Showed up in my home.

My mother bought it, not to be

The subject of a poem.

 

It was intended to explain

(A lecture would be worse)

The facts of menstruation,

Often called the “woman’s curse.”

 

Modess, a manufacturer

Of sanitary pads,

Produced the booklet; it cost

Just a quarter; they made scads.

 

The title always bothered me,

For what would be the need

To try to get young girls to like

A messy monthly bleed?

 

A novel I am reading

Brought this little pamphlet back.

A character is using it

For knowledge she does lack.

 

It’s rare to find a copy

So on Amazon they’re hiking it

To almost 90 bucks, another

Reason for not liking it.