Birthright
A regression in the wild Western world
Bodily autonomy STRIPPED and sequestered, stillness shh
Heteronomy of hubris hegemonic state(s), slate and steel
Surreal vantage points of chosen choice chalices cupped
By calloused hands of the callous, dire decried centralized
CrAcKdOwN via vices in vicelike gasps gripping wax writs
Of wrongs so heretical, back down in backhanded justice
Binding rights of bodily autonomy…To what end?
Endgames of indoctrination, hybridizing hate just to sate
Thirsts for firsts, amendments forged in flames of epochal
Times of mute minuses and paternal plusses in ire pyres
Worlds away, histories relayed, realities decaying, decreed
Credence of LIFE lived within litmus lives in unencumbered
Aerosphere's, airy dreamy daydreamers awake to alarmism
Yet it was never meant to be this way, not like this, never
Ever more ensuing less before nowise nightmares.
Riven risen prisons of thought crimes, tangential fast fiction
Factions of mavens march forth for birthrights BIRTHING
| Resistance | Subsistence | Existence | Omniscience | Sist |
Firebrands branding marks of onus ownership over oracles
Surrendered bodies, rapturous relationships, mutable blood
Is thicker than lawless water from constitutional cloudbursts
Cyclonic tempests, born and borne from (un)righteous skies
In lullabied LIES.
Legerdemain trysts awoke sleeping angels with mobilization
On their minds, coerced motherhood marred by ViOlAtiOnS
Opus so oppressive, unconscionable occlusion of bodies
Conclusions a matter of matters facile faceless and enforced
Numbness numbered by millions, mortal liberties entrusted
In justice trust of truces and chains as the world watches
Wayfaring watchtowers, humanistic humanity, flummoxed
By the land of the (faux) free.
© Edward Swafford 2025
Thank you for reading/listening. As an Australian, I struggle to comprehend how nationwide abortion rights were overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2022. Why are women (and their supporters) STILL fighting abortion bans in over twenty states?
I live in a country where women are treated with dignity, compassion, and respect when seeking abortions. In my home state of Victoria, terminations can be sought until 24 weeks of gestation, and the Victorian Parliament passed a 2015 law to ensure safety zones were in place to protect women from harassment when accessing abortion clinic services.
Now, for something different…
Note the three images used throughout the piece; each tells as much of the story as the words on the digital page. Editorial photography and poetry (or any genre of writing) is a powerful, impactful, narrative-driven combination.
Throughout June, I’ll be “going live” with video workshops and tutorials, focusing on pairing the perfect image(s) with any written piece.
All BCP subscribers are welcome to attend! Dates and info to come…
For the 101st time, we need highlighting here. I miss it.
Everyone needs to read this poem.
If you have not heard about the Adriana Smith case, I held that dear to my heart while I read this poem. It is unconscionable. America has become so backwards that we force dead women to give birth. We are not safe.