Monday, August 24, 2015

Making a Difference – Poem by Lynn D. Morrissey


If you’ve seen my Saturday Good Reads of the last few weeks, you know I’ve been including the ongoing release of the Planned Parenthood videos by the Center for Medical Progress – even though they are more of an “urgent” read than a “good” read. The subject of each successive video has been getting progressively worse, with the seventh video (posted last week) covering the subject of the process of “harvesting” of a baby’s brain in a late-term abortion.

There are no “key message points” from Planned Parenthood, its allies in “medical research” or the press secretary for Obama Administration sufficient to justify what I can only call a horror – an evil horror. So far, my two U.S. Senators from the state of Missouri have responded as expected – with Sen. Claire McCaskill supporting Planned Parenthood and Sen. Roy Blunt opposing it. At least Sen. Blunt is on record for opposing this evil.

My friend Lynn Morrissey, whose poem “Charleston” I published here in July, has written another poem. It’s not about the videos, but it is about Planned Parenthood, and it asks questions, heartrending questions.

Making a Difference
In recognition of the work of Planned Parenthood
August 2015

by Lynn D. Morrissey

Before the babies’ demise,
did the good doctors
hear the chilling cries of women
in the inchoate aftermath of their non-pathological operations:
their legal abortions?

Did the doctors warn them that the savagery
of surgery could invite hemorrhaging or ravage them
barren?

Did they advise about the post-abortive risk for breast-cancer or suicide?

Did they abide professional protocol to lessen their gut-wrenching pain
from near-disembowelment with a dose of two Extra-Strength Tylenol
or a sympathetic pat on the hand,
and assure them that their pain was all in their head?

Did they avert their eyes
and rationalize that those who shook and sobbed uncontrollably
were just having a bad reaction to sedation?

Did their gaze penetrate the masks of those resolute Stoics?
Did they see that they had absolutely shut down their emotions?

Did they high-five the nonchalants, applauding their cavalier demeanor—
for now?
Did they sing their praises with a laid-back, “Good job, babe!”?

Did the doctors practice good patient follow-up through the years
(and years and years),
and prescribe barbiturates—pretty palliatives to deaden unpalatable dreams
about human dismemberment
and to hasten sleep?
Did they keep oft-resulting alcoholism and drug abuse at bay with timely referrals to AA?

Did the doctors  prepare their patients for PAS, those frequently assaulting flashbacks
that rear up unexpectedly like wild stallions,
with swift kicks to the gut to
keep the memory alive?

Did the doctors cradle the broken disconsolates,
whose arms ached to rock desolate cradles?
Did they remain conscious of women’s impossible-to-abort consciences?

Did the good doctors do all this as professionals,
committed to the well-being of their patients?

Did they do all this to show how much they cared?

Did they do all this to make an indelible difference in the lives of those under their care,
in a world-turned-cold?


Photograph by George Hodan via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glynn, I can't thank you enough for your courage in posting my poem, Making a Difference. What I didn't say in the poem is that I had an abortion in the seventies, not too long after the infamous Roe v. Wade SCOTUS decision made this sin more accessible. I will tell you that as a young twenty-something and brand-new Christian, in some real ways, I didn't know what I was doing. Planned Parenthood surely played a part in further deceiving my own wicked, deceived heart. But several years later, when I read for the first time I could remember, the gripping truths of Psalm 139, and realized that God alone is the author of life, and that He means for *all* babies to be born, my heart melted in grief. I confessed my heinous sin to God. It's at that moment that I received His forgiveness. But I would not be able to forgive myself and to live in full freedom in Christ for nearly twenty years more. I tell that story in my book, Love Letters to God: Deeper Intimacy through Written Prayer. I share that here, because I realize that this particular poem, Making a Difference, does not convey the love, hope, healing, and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. That was not my intention with this poem; it's meant simply to convey the truth of what havoc Planned Parenthood wreaks in the lives of women--not to mention the murdering of innocent babie--from the perspective of one who has really been there and lived to tell the truth. But I would be remiss if I didn't let readers know that indeed there is hope and life and healing after abortion. Abortion is not the unpardonable sin, and God has buried my sin in the depths of the ocean. And most hopeful to me, too, is the joy of knowing that I will be reunited with my precious child--my Shannon--someday. Thank you so much for sharing this, Glynn. And if just one woman can be encouraged to walk away from the Planned Parenthood doors as a result of reading this, I will be eternally grateful and will know that Shannon did not die in vain.
So gratefully,
Lynn

Unknown said...

This is powerful, Lynn. It's clear you write from a perspective of experience... but also the promise of God's forgiveness. May your words reach and touch the hearts of all people and awaken their soul to the sovereignty of our Father.

D's Alabaster Jar said...

Your words scream from my heart.What a beautiful job you have done! Continue writing, sharing, shining a light into the darkness. There are many who search without realizing. There are many that need to know.

Thank you so much for sharing!

Anonymous said...

Floyd, I'm so grateful for these bold and encouraging words. Truly, you give me such courage to keep sharing my past, that at times, I'd rather avoid. I'm such a coward. But thank you for the strength that you help engender. I know that the Lord has linked us, and I'm so grateful. God bless you again and again! Pls. give Diane my love!
Lynn

Anonymous said...

Eve's Voice...sorry, I wish that I knew your name! Your words are like living water for a parched soul. God bless you for your love and encouragement. Sometimes, I would like to cower in a corner somewhere, but gracious, loving words like yours bolster me in the Lord and give me the courage to come out from hiding. Even if the truth of what I share positively affecting just one woman will make such an eternal difference. My child, whom I named Shannon, will not have died in vain. God bless you!