POLITICAL Poem: Romania, 1965, by Aubrey Lynch

Written November 6th, 2024

Many cheer with relief
and joy,
while I sit,
and know what is to come.

I think of the warnings given
and ignored,
the deaths
and damage
that will arise.

I think of Romania, 1965.

How the rights of many
were stripped away,
as contraceptives were outlawed,
pregnancies tracked,
and abortions forbidden.

I think of the women who died,
the same-sex lovers
who were made criminals by law,
the children whose lives were ruined
by underfunded and understaffed orphanages.

I think of the people who were lied to
about how the government
would take care of their children
if they couldn’t.

And it started with an election
like this one.

So, I sit,
knowing what is to come,
and think of Romania, 1965.