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Pointing the Finger

Ava Collopy

He aborted his children
After they were born
Had them in a foreign country then
Went back to Ireland
While their mother was left to raise them
Offered me a place to stay
During my divorce and I felt
So lucky to have such a friendÉ
Until the situation wore on
Him drunk thus suddenly emboldened
From his normally quiet demeanour
To rant about the supposed evils of
Far left-wing feminists, gays, and Jews
Even though I was none of those
Ranting about the wrongs
Of women having abortions
But not of the men that run off
And abandon them
Not of the evils of forcing single motherhood
How convenient to be so judgmental of strangers
Of those whose stories you don’t know
And while never fighting against rape
Never spreading the message that men should
Take responsibility and make better decisions themselves
Or go raise their own damn kids to adulthood
Before judging how others handle their private family affairs
Almost yelling at me for saying I am pro-choice,
Not pro-abortion, ready to shoot a spear of words
At some expected comment from me—
Some supposedly wrongful and misguided words
Of how young women have rights
To decide what to do with their own bodies and lives
He visibly stumbled when I said
My being pro-choice is largely because my beloved grandma
Had an abortion in the U.S. back before it was legal
Mostly because she already had four kids at the time
He kept yelling but all he could say was,
“Well...! I don’t know the circumstances she did that under!”
I said, “No, you don’t!” and in a way that said
You don’t cross that line with me and start insulting The Grandma
And I don't have to tell you the circumstances--
You aren't owed an explanation
He kept yelling but retreated across the room then quieted down
Saying he did agree with the point I’d made
That when you illegalize it, it still happens
But women die from it, so he too
Wouldn’t believe in a full abortion ban
As if I’d asked him
Or any legal or political body had
Or that his approval or disapproval
Was the center of the world

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