They won't let me in to see my wife,

or the seeping burns that score her.

Oh! The wish to hold her hand as she fades from life…

I pray it'll soon be over.

-

And down this loathed hall of white

under harsh florescent lights,

our son struggles to steal a breath.

His heart thuds, drenched in blood,

and sweet face pale as death.

-

I'm stuck here in the waiting room

where I pray to God for an inch of grace.

Sobbing in this solemn gloom,

I dare not stare at the nurse's face.

-

I have no right, they say-

pitying looks drift my way.

Because we do not live as they do.

Because my ring is not as gold.

Compared to theirs, my love not as true-

I must do as I'm told.

-

Curse that car murdered our life-

and the repulsive red light it ran.

And damn the laws and all their strife!

…I wish I'd been born a man.

A/N: Written for an assignment on modern civil rights. Also a celebration of my home state (Iowa) legalizing gay marriage!