The airport doors release them in a black
swarm: they are young, their faces shine
wet with their hope of freedom, wheeling
trolley cases full of nothing, they don’t
remember what they packed, it didn’t matter
just that cross in that box: they are home.
I am scrolling through screens full of
generosity, bold gestures, a pilgrimage.
I am crying for the unborn child I lost
and I don’t even know what I would vote.
They are glorious, they are triumphant, they
want autonomy, they want respect-
I believe it is murder – I believe in murder
for self-defence – I believe in choice and I
believe in life – I believe in life after death.
They are a tidal wave, I do not know what
to feel but I am feeling it, they have picked
me up too and washed me up on a foreign shore.
READ MORE
Irish pro-choice campaigners return #HometoVote [The Guardian]
Savita Halappanavar’s parents hail Irish abortion vote [Irish Times]
As it happened: Yes celebrates huge victory after massive vote to repeal [The Journal]
Judith Kingston is a Dutch writer living in the UK. Her work has been commissioned for various immersive theatre productions. Judith writes poetry because of its tremendous power to get to the heart of things.
Photo via Sonse entitled “Abortion Referendum Campaign Posters in Dublin, May 2018.”.
