Christmastime in America

You see the oddest things 

at Christmastime in America.

The bigger the city, 

the stranger the sights.

I was driving downtown 

to buy gifts for the family 

and enjoying bouquets

of beautiful people

bundled in big coats

and colorful scarves

clustered on corners,

shopping in good cheer

amid petals of snow 

dancing in the sun. 

One of them, however,

a beautiful young lady,

had stopped to take issue 

with an old woman in a shawl

picketing Planned Parenthood.

The old woman was riding

on a motor scooter 

designed for the elderly.

She held a sign bigger

than she was and kept

motoring back and forth

as resolute as my aunt

who had been renowned 

for protesting any injustice.

Saving seals in the Antarctic 

had been very important to her.

On this day, however, 

the beautiful young lady

who had taken issue

with the old woman  

was livid and screaming.

She marched behind 

the motor scooter and 

yelled at the old woman 

who appeared oblivious

to all the commotion.

Maybe she was deaf,

I thought, like my aunt.

That can be an advantage

at a time like this.

The letters on the sign were huge

but I couldn't read them

so I drove around the block

and found a spot at the curb.

It turned out the sign said,

"What might have happened

if Mary of Nazareth 

had been pro-choice?"

Now I understood 

why the young lady

was ranting and raving

and why the old woman

kept motoring to and fro.

At Christmastime in America

people get excited,

more so than usual.

When I got home 

I hid my packages 

and told my wife at supper

what I had seen.

I also told her that if Mary 

had chosen otherwise,

I wouldn't have had 

to go shopping today.

That's obvious, she said.