Joanna Charlotte
How dare I
Ask to be supported in my suffering;
Share that I am grieving
For children I can never have?
How dare you
Dismiss and belittle my emotions;
Force me to feel guilty and ashamed
When you have everything I wished for?
How dare I
Offer advice in my professional capacity;
Express an opinion about a child’s needs
When I have no children of my own?
How dare you
Interrogate me with intrusive questions;
Insinuate that I could have tried harder
To achieve what you take for granted?
How dare I
Say I have no additional time available;
That I have commitments and challenges
When I lead a ‘carefree’, childless life?
How dare you
Make patronising assumptions about my life;
Attempt to ‘fix’ or ‘normalise’ me
Because my difference makes you uncomfortable?
How dare I
Consider my life as worthwhile as yours;
Suggest that I should be invited and included;
Declare that my needs deserve equal consideration
Because I am Childless Not By Choice?
How dare you
Judge my life as inferior to yours;
Intimidate me into isolation and invisibility;
Propose that your needs should take precedence
Just because you are a Privileged Parent?
Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash