after reading a (pretty good) story by (sincerely canadian) margaret atwood

1.
i am canadian.
i divorce, i
suicide, i
observe. my country
is a hotel. my life
is a television series.
the windows of
my house are
double glazed. when
you masturbate,
he says, the
ancestors watch.

2.
i'd prefer
to believe.
birds, she
says, are the souls
of the unborn. sparrow
and jay, hawk and
chickadee, a
democracy of tiny
heartbeats demanding
sustenance. abortion is,
regrettably,
a reasonable option.

© Robert Martens