Outside the Abortion Clinic
by Br. Jeremiah Myriam, CFR

I know those eyes

sunken
sad
swollen

We meet here every Saturday morning
in Manhatten's early morning shuffle

among
car horns
screaming sirens
and enchanted tourists.

I know those eyes

drowning
in a sea of despair

held under water
by alien hands
screaming
"choice, choice!"

We meet here every Saturday,
two strangers
on a lonely sidewalk

yet your eyes
timidly laced in tears
cannot meet mine

so we depart
without ever having spoken

only to meet here again
next week.