As part of my self imposed therapy, I write about my feelings and have composed this poem. I hope someone can benefit from some of these words.

ATAVISM

He said “It’s just a little nip and tuck,
Nothing really to worry about.
It’s best to get it over with now,
He’ll never know without a doubt.”

“A ‘lifetime of benefits’ can be realized.
Trust me, we know what we say.
And we would never do anything,
That would cause harm in any way.”

“For, you see, I took an oath
When I was idealistic and young,
So sign the form and consent
And hand me over your newborn son.”

And the benefits keep rolling in
A panacea of health and gratification.
Like the highest HIV rate
Of any industrialized nation.

Protection for every man-child
In every sub-Saharan nation.
As professional arrogance gone wild
Substitutes surgery for education.

And they know not what they take
And they know not what they lose
And they know not what they make
And they no longer have the right to choose.

Thus each is forever transfigured
Into an Adonis of some stranger’s choosing.
But would you cut off a toe or finger
At the whim of society’s musing?

How can you miss what you never knew?
How can you feel loss or even mourn?
Perhaps you should ask a man who
Was born with only one arm.

So they are the walking wounded
Maimed by intentions of pure hue,
By a people and a profession
Who are afraid to know what is true.

And for most, I can suppose
It really is not so sorrowful,
For the forces of denial and ignorance
Are mighty god-damned powerful.

But for those who suspect otherwise
Who wonder what might really be lost,
Who think that nature just might be wise
This shunned minority suffers the real cost.

There are more of them than you know
Suffering their pain in stoic anonymity
Lost, a teeming midway sideshow
Faint light in the dark of blind conformity.

Does the rest of the world laugh, appalled
At our misandrous archaic ritual?
Knowing a whole body in adult life
As something to be enjoyed as sensual.

It is obvious and in no doubt true
A diet of hamburgers, fries and shakes,
Is fine if you never see the whole menu
Which lists caviar, Champaign and steaks.

Thereby does it continue forward
No atavistic reform in sight,
Great grandfathers having no word
On their descendant son’s plight.