The rest of the poem can be found here.
Although my taste in 20th century poetry tends to be towards more structured poetry with modern spins on classical techniques–like the work of WH Auden and Seamus Heaney, for instance–I don’t find the poem in the OP to be particularly bad. Here’s the rest of it for those interested.
I especially like the rhythms, sounds, and content of the penultimate stanza:
It may be free verse, but it’s controlled free verse. In my opinion, her rhythms are very propulsive–she has a good handle on using spondees and trochees to pace her poem and stress her imagery. She effictively uses repetition as a structuring device throughout the poem, and varies the diction from direct simple statements such as “tiptoeing the red pile of the carpet” to more scientific ones like “in the harmony of physiological potentiality.” For me, she seems to err on the side of readibility and directness and only calls up the higher diction to explain more abstract, cerebral concepts. Personally, I think it’s a good balance.
Overall, on the literal level, it’s a pretty well-written poem on childbirth.
