Written by Highest Kite, from the ‘Rebel’ series
You know what’s funny but dangerously
not funny?
How none of my friends nor I want children
Two of us have had abortions
one of us more than once
Don’t ask me how, don’t ask me why
Between them, both my grandmothers had
sixteen children. One had nine, the other seven.
Today, only thirteen survive. Our mothers each
had four children. Today, only ten of the twelve
survive
Of our Moms, one’s been asleep since April last year,
her sleep is long, her sleep is hers, her dreams are hers,
her children miss her and live like cracked vessels
waiting for something to seep in. Another is a politician
with a drinking husband and marijuana dependent daughter.
The last is a teacher about to retire. Five years ago,
she discovered her daughter, my friend, was not
her husband’s last born. The status belongs to a toddler
now in lower primary; eight years after we completed high school
In a group text, a meme said, “What a time to be childless.”
We agree
