we should talk about something else

it's the wrong

subject

to discuss over dinner,

but so it goes.

she's pro abortion,

she does the marches and all

that. she wears

a t-shirt with a line

through

an egg.

i straddle

the fence, claiming

there's

a life growing in there,

and it's more

complicated

than one realizes.

she says,

what about capital

punishment.

are you for that?

yes, i say,

if someone murdered

my family

or your family, i'd

want them to die, though

i couldn't pull the switch.

i couldn't kill a chicken

even if i was starving.

but the baby inside

your womb

hasn't killed anyone,

yet.

in fact, there are more

laws

protecting bird's eggs,

than there are

protecting

human embryos.

it's not a baby, she says.

it's a bunch of cells wriggling

around.

a bunch of cells?

at this point she slams

her hand

on the table, and gets

up to leave.

don't tell me, you stupid man,

what i can or cannot do

with my body.

i'm not i tell her, relax, sit

back down.

i think at our age we don't

have to worry about this issue.

come on, sit. sit.

oh, we're done here

mister.

we're done. i'm leaving.

she grabs her purse,

her coat

and her picket signs

and starts for the door.

hey, hey, 

aren't you coming back

to my place?