Hera-Eternal Mother

They are always outside- snarling, shouting, warping the words of their gods

She takes a deep breath and opens the door

Without that barrier their cries are sharpened

Insults that bled together before are now separate injuries

She ignores them

She must find the woman

With calm, measured steps She descends onto the pavement

She scans the jeering crowd with practiced indifference

Each face lined with cruelty, old beyond mortality

She wants to grieve for them as a mother should

She cannot

Her eyes stop 

The car matches the description the woman gave

It fits neatly between two lines on the pavement

She walks, parting the sea of hate 

She knocks gently on the window

The woman inside looks at Her with young eyes

Scared eyes

The woman steps out of the car and takes Her hand

“Hera, thank you for the escort”

Hera takes the woman by the hand

Guides her back towards the clinic away from hate

She whispers in the woman’s ear

To drown the screams around them

“Motherhood is your choice. The words of these men are worthless. 

This is your divine right.”

Hera squeezes the woman’s hand 

“Your sisters are beside you. Your Mother is with you.”

Inside the clinic, the woman is helped into a room by another

Hera returns to the door, standing guard

Against the hatred of men

No woman will come to harm under Her watch

No woman will feel degraded, attacked

She mothered them all

She will see to it they are safe