Birth

By Adriana Herrera 

Sharks are born in three different ways. The first is a live birth; the second is through hatching from a deposited egg. The third is a mixture of both, where the egg hatches in the wombs and the babies then fight for the right to be born before they are considered alive. From there they learn to live on their own, growing up firstly in secluded areas that can identify as a nursery before being brought out into the ocean. The ocean, the biggest open space of pestilence and pollution where they will then be given the opportunity to be killed by overfishing or the often inept hunter. 

Because they were born. 

Axolotls have very cute births. They are born from eggs that are fertilized after a male and female axolotl dance together in courtship. After this dance, there is then a rock or plant chosen for the eggs to be laid individually, which is a way to protect their babies from predators. It will take two weeks for the eggs to hatch. Following a cute coupling and extra protection, two weeks after these creatures have been born, they will die. Their waters are desecrated, their habitats destroyed. The droughts that come before the forgiving rains are the only things that say goodbye to them as they leave the Earth. 

Because they were born. 

Cheetahs have a special call, a yelp if you will. Through the female’s estrous cycle, the males will let out yelps, to which the female can decide if she would like to mate or not. The gestation period then takes up to 95 days. Most litters have around 3-5 cubs at a time; these sweet little lives born with the most gorgeous of silver fur on their backs. This silver fur puts a target on them immediately. What poacher wouldn’t want the fur of a silvery little feline to hang up and show off? Mass hunting creates a domino effect, one that has led cheetahs to despair. 

Because they were born. 

Homo sapiens. These creatures are born after a mother and father love each other or don’t love each other. This gestation period lasts up to 9 months; sometimes even less if the fetus or baby is heavily affected. But unlike the cheetah, axolotl, and shark, Homo sapiens are not all perceived to be born the same. No, some are born with higher value while others are regarded as less because of the lands they were born on. Many Homo sapiens have had their lives threatened for simply being that of a different variety of the species. In many minds of the Homo sapiens, one group is superior to the others. This superiority causes a rift, a rift so large that it causes one group to hate the other so much until it eventually destroys both. 

I am a Homo sapien. 

I am not what one would consider one of the superior Homo sapiens. 

My life will be threatened, my home will be pillaged, and my skin will be what gets me targeted. 

Because I was born.