Your Choice by Lois Kennedy
Before they make a choice, I want you to know my story.
I have been travelling for days, I am hot,
Even though my journey is in water,
And I can’t remember when I last ate.
I am traveling to your doorstep and I’m so close to your world
I can hear voices from your side of the door.
They argue about me,
Some want to let me in and live amongst them.
Others want me gone.
I am confused because I have done nothing wrong.
I haven’t even spoken to these people
And they talk of leaving me.
Their voices become clear as I inch closer,
They talk of my imperfections,
My face, my skin, my eyes.
They cannot see my face, but they say It will be imperfect.
I am sad now because I know that God made me perfect
So, it must’ve been me who destroyed it.
I am but a child
and I have come from a place you nor they have known.
My last chance is this new place where I can start my life
But that cannot happen if they decide to…
No, I’ll not think about that.
I will be forgotten in these arguments,
Important people will decide to help me or to…
They don’t remember what it is like to be a child,
So afraid and lonely.
Some are even different, “imperfect” as they say,
Their voices will be ignored.
I curl up, hands crossed, knees up to my chest,
I listen to my heartbeat and dream.
De-dum, de-dum, de-dum.
I close my eyes Imagining a mother who cares for me,
A father who wants me.
At least God loves me,
He knows that I am just as much a person as they are.
I may see him soon.
The voices wake me up, loud from the other side.
I open my mouth, but my voice is not heard.
They have cries of “It’s my choice!”,
While I just cry.
I whisper back, “What about mine?”
I get closer to the door and clamp my hands over my ears.
I have come all this way, was it all for nothing?
I am only small and vulnerable,
I need your protection,
Will you repay me with this?
Let me live, let me breathe and give me a chance!
I am not some cells glued together,
I am not baggage to carry and then drop,
I am not an animal to put down because of illness
I am a baby, not a foetus.
I am your beginning,
Where all your lives began,
Will you murder me now?
As you say, it’s your choice.