Abortions in the Rough

Thomas Quitzau

July 10, 2022

I think abortion should remain legal, but it needs to be safe and rare. And I have spent many years now, as a private citizen, as first lady, and now as senator, trying to make it rare, trying to create the conditions where women had other choices.

Hilary Rodham Clinton, 2008 Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College, Apr 13, 2008

Did she mean infrequently occurring? Uncommon?

Or did she mean excellent? Extraordinary?

I guess it depends.

I guess it depends.

Some are spontaneous, 

Some happen naturally, 

Some surprise us, 

Some are sought after, 

But one thing’s for sure:

Those fetuses, which

Don’t look like much

So small and simple

Having been gravidly borne

Demanding sacrifices

From those torn by pressures

Of this massive world

When cared for, when

Refined, if you will, after

Mere years, that burglar

Time, posing as king

Fools some into thinking

This life, after all, 

Is not as precious

As you might think.

Thomas Quitzau grew up in the Gulf Coast region and worked for over 30 years in Houston, Texas. A self-ascribed member of the ZenJourno School of poetry, Tom recently relocated with his family to Long Island, New York where he teaches and writes.