1636: Taking Heart | Andrew Rihn
Warning: This poem is about Dr. Tiller's work as a physician providing abortion care.
"Taking Heart"
Andrew Rihn
Like so many, you learned about
your father's outlaw side only after
his death. A respected doctor, he
performed illegal abortions, and
when asked to carry on his work,
you were, like many of us, confused
and uninformed. I read that you
wanted to go into dermatology,
the study of skin, but the needs
of women run much deeper.
The first woman you refused
had no choice but chose anyway.
She went where she had to, without
options or safety, and she died
of that drought. What kind of man
could understand such thirst? Our
bodies are different, our barometers
read other pressures. Such harsh lessons
are taught every day in clinics
we never enter. We pass by them,
as men of good standing, ignoring
their calls to ruthless education.
But still you learned, walked inside
the clinic, and the lessons
ran deep. You renounced the label
of good standing, became a man
of understanding. You sensed
the aquifers in these women: silent,
profound, necessary. Tiller, as in
one who tills. Mostly, we think
of tilling in terms of a metaphor
for sex, conception, birth. But you
saw what we make every effort not to,
made that your life's work. You did
your best to help till the land
of hopes, dreams, potential.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the historic American Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade which stated that the right to privacy extends to a woman's decision of abortion; in other words, the right to an abortion was deemed by the Supreme Court to be a fundamental right. This poem is about Dr. Tiller, a physician who provided abortion care, who was murdered by an anti-abortion activist in 2009 while Dr. Tiller was ushering at at his church's Sunday morning worship service.
Priests and legislators do not hold shares/in my womb or my mind./This is my body. If I give it to you/I want it back. My life/is a non-negotiable demand.
"Taking Heart"
Andrew Rihn
Like so many, you learned about
your father's outlaw side only after
his death. A respected doctor, he
performed illegal abortions, and
when asked to carry on his work,
you were, like many of us, confused
and uninformed. I read that you
wanted to go into dermatology,
the study of skin, but the needs
of women run much deeper.
The first woman you refused
had no choice but chose anyway.
She went where she had to, without
options or safety, and she died
of that drought. What kind of man
could understand such thirst? Our
bodies are different, our barometers
read other pressures. Such harsh lessons
are taught every day in clinics
we never enter. We pass by them,
as men of good standing, ignoring
their calls to ruthless education.
But still you learned, walked inside
the clinic, and the lessons
ran deep. You renounced the label
of good standing, became a man
of understanding. You sensed
the aquifers in these women: silent,
profound, necessary. Tiller, as in
one who tills. Mostly, we think
of tilling in terms of a metaphor
for sex, conception, birth. But you
saw what we make every effort not to,
made that your life's work. You did
your best to help till the land
of hopes, dreams, potential.
Today is the 40th anniversary of the historic American Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade which stated that the right to privacy extends to a woman's decision of abortion; in other words, the right to an abortion was deemed by the Supreme Court to be a fundamental right. This poem is about Dr. Tiller, a physician who provided abortion care, who was murdered by an anti-abortion activist in 2009 while Dr. Tiller was ushering at at his church's Sunday morning worship service.
Priests and legislators do not hold shares/in my womb or my mind./This is my body. If I give it to you/I want it back. My life/is a non-negotiable demand.