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Unwanted Tyke

I do not like the idea of abortions, naturally, But then I do not like to see abandoned kids I am a firm believer in equal opportunity, Yet, I see so many in our populace on the skids. In my lifetime I’ve watched children suffer, And I have thought better never to have been Than be jerked up by a drug-addicted monster Or a sexually abusive, ingrate…what a sin! I’ve read of little kids forced to live in a box Slowly dying from abuse, neglect, and starvation For them no golden opportunity ever knocks And I ask, can this happen in a civilized nation? Seeing pictures of their ravaged little bodies Surmising what hell they must’ve endured I say to myself, “better not to have been born” Than to have lived briefly, then forever obscured. But I will never forget them, some I even taught With only an inkling of what their life was like As a child I, too, was abused and I never forgot Better not to be born than die an unwanted tyke. Written June 27, 2022 [I have conducted funerals for unwanted, throwaway children who committed suicide!]

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Caren Krutsinger

Date: 7/3/2022 2:10:00 AM

When you have been around children who have lived the worst lives imaginable, and you have heard of young women killed by coat hangers, and you believe the soul does not enter the body until a few days after birth, abortions seem wonderful.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 7/3/2022 8:45:00 AM

I know you and I share many of these kinds of experiences, Caren. You are so right.

I Am Anaya

Date: 6/28/2022 9:40:00 AM

If as much attention were payed to post-natal children as is payed to embryos, it would alleviate so much suffering. Real tales such as yours, told from the trenches, should weigh more and need to be heard. Thank you for sharing.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 7/3/2022 8:46:00 AM

I couldn't agree more, Anaya.

Rico Leffanta

Date: 6/27/2022 6:53:00 PM

Morons deny professional medical services knowing victims - especially the poor - will resort to quacks who rob, mutilate, blackmail, and murder them. Our Justices claim they are "saving" lives when so many unwanted children fill our streets, orphanages, or are in foster care. Even a "dumb" farmer knows not to get more until you can support what you have! I resent the captcha code for this is "TXJ" Texan Justice? Aloha!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/27/2022 6:58:00 PM

Wow! TXJ, you say? Thank you so much, Rico, for your thoughtful and thought-provoking response to my poem. I really appreciate it. Mahalo!

Robert Gorelick

Date: 6/27/2022 6:21:00 PM

born into a world of torment and neglect and abuse; why? Soul? Because all life is precious? Give me a break!

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/27/2022 6:53:00 PM

I couldn't agree more, Robert. Thank you for your comment on my poem. But, so they (whoever they are, whoever wants control) say. Some lives are better off never lived, IMHO.

Terry Flood

Date: 6/27/2022 5:16:00 PM

As a man who looks for the fun in all situations… you have left me speechless, Milt. Sometimes, there is no fun to be found. Not sure ‘love it’ is appropriate, but this is a timely and well observed write. Terry

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/27/2022 6:55:00 PM

It's all right to "love it," Terry, if you feel I have made a satisfactory case for the poem to exist. It was a "must write" for me, because I've seen situations where any sane person would have said, "Better the child had been aborted." I can tell you more real situations, but I'll save them for Soup Mail to whoever really wants to know more. Terry, you are a fine, fine fellow and poet. Thank you.

Maureen McGreavy The Insolent Rib

Date: 6/27/2022 3:18:00 PM

I haven’t the words at the moment, other than thank you for this important poem. xomo

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/27/2022 5:05:00 PM

Thank you, Maureen. I do appreciate your thoughts on the subject, and I hope the poem does make an impression.

Jenna Logan

Date: 6/27/2022 2:02:00 PM

How terribly sad that you've had to witness such atrocities, in addition to suffering some of your own. Mankind is cruel to its own. Thank you for caring so much for others, Milt.

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/27/2022 3:06:00 PM

You have no idea, Jenna, as many do not. One of my kids (when I worked with the Juvenile Office in St. Charles, MO) threw himself in front of a tractor trailor on I-64. He didn't suffer any more. One in Virginia shot himself in the head on Halloween night. The number of "throwaway" children in this country is staggering!

Mystic Rose Rose

Date: 6/27/2022 1:33:00 PM

OMG, this twists my heart Milton, so many unwanted children, so much pain, its commendable that you do what you do for them. We need more angels on earth to do what others won't and will not do. We need to pray for this generation of kids that are so so lost. what a meaningful poem penned, love it, xo

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/27/2022 3:06:00 PM

Thank you so much, M.R.R. for your thoughtful, kind, and caring response to my poem.

John Lawless

Date: 6/27/2022 12:42:00 PM

Beautifully and painfully written Milton, would that we had a solution other than sanctimony

L Milton Hankins
Date: 6/27/2022 12:45:00 PM

Ah, so true, John. So true. And how many people who are so vociferously anti-abortion have ever had the experience of burying a child who committed suicide??? And how many of them have been willing to adopt an underprivileged child???