Two poems concerning abortion healing rituals: One among Catholic charismatics in the United States and the second among Buddhists in Japan

This work consists of two poems concerning abortion healing rituals, one among Catholic Charismatics in the United States and the second among Buddhists in Japan. Both works are based on the work of Thomas J. Csordas, who studied and described these rituals in his comparative study entitled “A Handmaid's Tale: The Rhetoric of Personhood in American and Japanese Healing of Abortions.” The first poem is written with the liturgical language of Christianity, while the second is written in the traditional Japanese style of haiku, including both a kireji or “cutting word” and a kigo or seasonal reference. An ethnographic statement follows each poem.