When I Became a Modern Woman
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I was raised on blue pills—
the brand name stuff with
she can do anything imprinted on them.
I swallowed anything my parents gave me
as long as it tasted sweet.
I stopped taking them
after I got my blueprint.
I didn’t want the side effects
to blunt the struggles
that build character.
Withdrawal came in breakdowns—
bits of me scattered everywhere
between a career and family
that demanded all of me.
To manage the mental load,
I went back on the blue pills—
the generic kind with
she can have it all imprinted on them.
I swallow them with wine
so I don’t have to taste them.
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Renee Cronley
Renee Cronley is a writer and nurse from Manitoba. She enjoys long walks in the cemetery and hates when people chew with their mouths open. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Chestnut Review, PRISM international, Off Topic, Love Letters to Poe, and several other anthologies and literary magazines.
