More to come in this thread. Here are the lyrics to the poem read on tonights show.

cell division (december 20th) Sean Berk

i blame you for catholicizing my childhood
and for ostracizing my father for how he stood
in the middle of your choir loft
-his Jewish voice giving new meaning to
your cathedral hymns

while my mother played the role of silent saint
in pastel hospital scrubs-
her stethoscope-her crucifix breathing life
into lungs of drug addicts and geriatric hypochondriacs
in a 20 year loop of emergency room drama they could
never capture on television

let that shit slide and still demand
our weekly donation in pink yellow green blue envelopes
- some mortgage payment never to be late-

but i?ll stop for a moment to ask a serious question

?Father, i have question-
Father, when does life begin??

he reaches for his collar- white and tight against his righteous neck
-searches for how to answer- and pulls out Soap Box #1
and climbs on top, as if at Pro-Choice rally-
this Crusader for Life spouts proudly
?life begins at conception??
and I?m set off

?so then my wife and i are not sinners in the eyes of your religion.
we?ve been right in our recent actions and our joyous decision
to jump forward in our minds and anticipate the life that we would hold
-to look forward in time and dream dreams of watching her grow old
-attach feelings and possible names and baby room decorations
in only three month?s time.
see, you and your righteous answer freed us from any of these crimes.?

and now i?m on the offensive
and i?m about to attack

?see, Father, there?s two fucking answers to that question
so i?ll ask again
-Father, when does life begin?

see, my wife and i have dedicated our lives to educating children
-to elevating children and their minds
-to spending countless hours teaching them to read and write,
-to think critically and choose what is right
and ?no, thanks, i know it?s a noble profession??

and here?s where i go off

?you?ve cut my wife?s fucking paycheck in half
like she?s been on some carribean getaway
for the past two weeks and you can?t believe she?d do such a thing

well, she didn?t, Father, and see,
i?ll ask again
Father, when does life begin??

and so he checks the manual
-the one that answers questions more financial-
He looks at me and asks
?well, was their funeral??

?in that case,
there?s been funerals in our minds every day since two weeks ago
and no, we didn?t choose to use your Church,
it was too overpriced

yes, Father, there?s been funerals-
we didn?t need you to oversee-
no quasi-spiritual man could tell my wife and me
reasons why our daughter never had the chance to breathe
why we won?t have the opportunity to see
her in sundresses
in prom dresses
in wedding dresses

but now she?s looking down-
little infant wings aglow
and at only 4 months, she does know
but, do you,
Father?

when
does life
begin??