Nulligravida Nocture

And they ask you about menstruation. Say, "It is harm, so keep away from wives during menstruation. And do not approach them until they are pure."
–The Holy Qur'an, 2:222

He touches me.
Reaches across our mattress

on the floor like a raft, adrift in night's black
gulf. Headlights glide over the opposite wall.

Gilded. Quick. His hands
cresting the waves of my hips.

In the dark, I leak
more darkness. Inside,

an endless well. I know
now, deep within myself, myself

as harmed. Know deeper
the man I love

will never harm me. He's no god
but good

to me. Like blood, the night
comes and comes and

comes. I was taught
for years a touch like this

was fruitless, a sin
to love when love couldn't

root as proof. His
hands on my hips despite,

moored. If asked,
I'd make the trade—give up the inconceivable

heaven for a warmth
I can sense, the faithless

man who draws me toward him
through shadow, knowing

who I am, what I can't be.

- Leila Chatti (from Los Angeles Review)

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