June 2022
Bio Note: I am old enough to remember the Before-Times— i.e. the years prior to 1973, when Roe v Wade went into effect. The following poem is a story from those bad old days, which seem to be headed our way again.
Before Roe
Donna? Terrible story. Everybody said
she must have gone and gotten herself pregnant
after one of the high school track meets
(she always went to them, you know)—
And the boy? Guess he stuck with her anyway
although the people who showed up for
their instant wedding said he didn’t look at her,
not even once, not even when he mumbled out his vows.
They say his dad got him a decent job, something
to do with selling appliances, but everybody knew
he really was an athlete, you know. A sprinter.
Could have won a scholarship to Penn.
We never saw them out together, but I’m told
he bought her things she didn’t even ask for,
like a brand new Dodge Dart and a fancy
washer-dryer combination from his store.
Hadn’t she heard about those places where
the Lord helps bring girls like her to term,
and the boy can still go on to college? But no.
Miscarriage. That’s what everybody said
even though they found her in that very Dodge
once they unsealed the door to the garage.
©2022 Marilyn Taylor
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