In New York We Say

In New York, we say
we are safe from these
frivolous wills, bursting
forth with the
overzealousness
of man.

In Idaho, we watch
as they say:
“Let God’s will be—
We cannot interfere”
as if God cried
out as we push
these new beings
into life.

(I’ve never heard Him—
but I have heard the
anguished cries of mothers,
Of daughters.
I’ve heard their
screams in pain.)

In Louisiana, there’s
the tug and the pull.
That, too, is birth
and there is not
always a cry—
a cry like that
which rings out
in Kansas,
a cry that bursts
in a world
that is immune to us,
the living women.

About the Poem

I never thought I’d see the day when Roe v. Wade was overturned. I am horrified watching the total or near-total abortion bans going into effect (or likely going into effect) in Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, and elsewhere.

About the Author

Elizabeth Schmermund is a poet and professor living in New York.