Open letter to the civil rights activist who is homophobic
(written for the National Day of Silence)
Can you remember those moments when it seemed like God forgot you?
When you were nothing more than just an ant to crush
A servant to wait
A slur branded into your arm through pelted bruises
And the fact that your son held the future in his eyes
Scared you because of the smoldering fire pit of a fate
That was looming ashes into his present
So you did what you could
You fought a contending battle with no arms
You fought with dedication
You fought molding your body into target practice for those serpent headed hoses breaking your skin
Stiffening your wrists into flag poles to hold up those picket signs
Familiarizing your stomach to hunger and prison laced blows
You fought
And you won some form of a settling breeze of your son’s future
And if it was needed you would do it again
You would march with your knees the highest they’ve risen
And take the lashes of slander against the flesh of your back
You’d crucify yourself in a courtroom just to show the truth gushing from your veins
You’d do it
Just to save the life of another little black boy
Like your son
Lying in the ground like charred rags of a crumpled surrender flag
All knees and elbows falling along the breaking jaw and crunched bones
Beneath the stomping feet and stinging words flying from the bodies
Crushing him like an ant
But what would you do if you knew this little black boy was gay
Was having his pride beat and flogged out of him in pieces
Because he gave his precious fragile heart to another man
Because somehow love has been decoded into some monstrous threat
Tempting hate to come baptize it fag and dyke and queer
What would you do?
If the boy had poured his soul into some bottled kiss upon your son lips
Would you let the blood run cool red along the brown dusk of his face
Would you crush the forget-me-nots lining his bed
Tell his parents that their son’s soul,
now lying in fragments amongst his toes
Was to be scorched with the dancing demons of hell
Would you lose that deep rooted voice you’ve been trailing for years
Just to tell this boy that he was unnatural
Because he felt love
Can you remember those moments when it seemed like God forgot you?
When you were nothing more than just an ant to crush
A servant to wait
A slur branded into your arm through pelted bruises
And the fact that your son held the future in his eyes
Scared you because of the smoldering fire pit of a fate
That was looming ashes into his present
So you did what you could
You fought a contending battle with no arms
You fought with dedication
You fought molding your body into target practice for those serpent headed hoses breaking your skin
Stiffening your wrists into flag poles to hold up those picket signs
Familiarizing your stomach to hunger and prison laced blows
You fought
And you won some form of a settling breeze of your son’s future
And if it was needed you would do it again
You would march with your knees the highest they’ve risen
And take the lashes of slander against the flesh of your back
You’d crucify yourself in a courtroom just to show the truth gushing from your veins
You’d do it
Just to save the life of another little black boy
Like your son
Lying in the ground like charred rags of a crumpled surrender flag
All knees and elbows falling along the breaking jaw and crunched bones
Beneath the stomping feet and stinging words flying from the bodies
Crushing him like an ant
But what would you do if you knew this little black boy was gay
Was having his pride beat and flogged out of him in pieces
Because he gave his precious fragile heart to another man
Because somehow love has been decoded into some monstrous threat
Tempting hate to come baptize it fag and dyke and queer
What would you do?
If the boy had poured his soul into some bottled kiss upon your son lips
Would you let the blood run cool red along the brown dusk of his face
Would you crush the forget-me-nots lining his bed
Tell his parents that their son’s soul,
now lying in fragments amongst his toes
Was to be scorched with the dancing demons of hell
Would you lose that deep rooted voice you’ve been trailing for years
Just to tell this boy that he was unnatural
Because he felt love
