Vote Changing: the System’s
Solution
Janet Kuypers
9/9/22
It has been a year
Since siblings told me
They would never visit the state
Which I’m afraid I now claim residence
Since they passed the worst anti-abortion laws.
(I keep stressing
This isn’t my home, I still
Vehemently say this isn’t my choice,
But I still live here. What does that say
About my now helplessness against the state.)
The saddest part
About these laws — no,
Wait, the saddest part is that
So many women have to fight a battle
That’s so uphill that rock climbers and athletes
Couldn’t stand
A chance against this
New and intrusive state, that’s
Truly the saddest part... but the saddest part
About these laws, especially for those who don’t think
They’re directly,
Immediately affected
By the restrictive passing
Of these laws, is that, after fighting so long,
You now read news about the one-year-anniversary
Of SB 8, limiting
Abortion rights, and
The now swaying of Texas
Opinions is that well over half of Texans
Now strongly support abortion rights *. After one
Long arduous year,
I see photos of Texas
Women in my now-town marching,
Depicting signs of the Texas flag stating,
“Don’t Mess with Texas Women” **. (And of course,
The woman in the photo is
Just about the only one with her
Mask off, either to show her disgust
For the restrictive law, or so she can claim
Her fifteen minutes of fame.) This is a noble cause,
But we’ve already
Been “messed” with, so...
Then what. My isolation escalates,
As I read surveys*** suggesting a change
In the winds. But surveys and polls don’t pass laws —
Or overturn them.
Like Queen Elizabeth II
Who just passed away, I have
Never told people how to vote, though that’s
All that any news article or report can talk about now.
I have heard
That independents, or
People who have voted Republican,
Are now changing their mind this one time
And voting for a democrat, if it gives women rights.
I won’t tell you
What to do. I never will —
Because I cannot tell you that the
Platform of one political party is worth
Changing your vote over a single issue — even if
The issue is
Life and death for women,
Versus life and death for clumps
Of cells, which, wait a minute, don’t
Understand or fathom life as we know it. You’d
Think it was
A simple decision,
You’d think it was cut-and-dry,
As it should be. But when the cards are
So stacked against women’s rights, think again.
It makes me wonder
If voting for change is
Literally the only thing we can
Do. Do the signs and protests matter.
Does anyone listen when our complaints and cries
Seem to fall
On deaf ears. When
Backwards irrationality prevails,
How does being the loudest voice on the street
Make an ounce of difference. If a person protests
In the middle
Of a forest of people,
Does it make a sound to any
Lawmakers who chose to close their
Ears to reason. For how will they listen to the truth.
* https://www.npr.org/2022/09/01/1120472842/poll-one-year-
after-sb-8-texans-express-strong-support-for-abortion-rights
** https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2022/09/01/gettyimages-
1233172256-08d4b6483cbbdbb9fec939969ba2b67db25ad0d5-s1800-c85.webp
*** https://tfn.org/cms/assets/uploads/2022/08/PerryUndem-
Texas-Electorate-on-Abortion_SB-8.pdf
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