Abundance by Lauren Scharhag

She's always been a tiny person,

a pixie in childhood,

bright-eyed and bird-boned.

She developed late,

wearing kid’s clothes

well into high school.

When she finally needed a bra,

the victory was bittersweet.

Even junior sizes were still

too big, so she had to sew

all her own clothes.

When she became a mother

she found that her breasts

so flowed with milk,

she donated the excess,

proving the adage

about size having nothing

to do with performance,

the breast milk center proceeds

feeding micro preemies

at the NICU.

Her own son was premature,

and she smiles to imagine his

dozens of milk siblings

partaking of her,

understanding only too well

what it’s like to be small

and underestimated.

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Lauren Scharhag (she/her) is an associate editor for GLEAM: Journal of the Cadralor, and the author of thirteen books, including Requiem for a Robot Dog (Cajun Mutt Press) and Languages, First and Last (Cyberwit Press). Her work has appeared in over 150 literary venues around the world. Recent honors include the Seamus Burns Creative Writing Prize and multiple Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize nominations. She lives in Kansas City, MO. She tweets @laurenscharhag. To learn more about her work, visit: www.laurenscharhag.blogspot.com