This (revised) poem was written for my Russian LGBTQ sisters and brothers and their allies just after President Putin passed laws outlawing gay people (paraphrasing). But, it also applies to those struggling under the same sort of oppression in other countries such as Uganda, India, Iraq… as well as every small town in America’s heartland where hate hides behind church pews and Sheriff badges. Don’t give up. The world is your witness. You are not alone. Love stands in solidarity with you. Love will always win.
they give tear gas for kisses
prison for love
a closed fist for religion
laws that refuse justice
they sanction the hate that loads our neighbors’ guns
paint the targets on our hearts
and now love is on the run
but all hearts bleed the same
under the shame of the Kremlin sun
they outline their fear in crime chalk
insist that our bodies will fit
but we know our hearts do not
all of this in the name of a religion
that no God would ever call love
they can throw the tear gas
and fill their prisons
they can be led by the chains of their fear
and stand in the shame of their judgments
no matter what laws are written
no matter what they claim makes us different
Choosing to love is what makes us human
we all feel pain
we all bleed the same
and we will all perish regardless of the hand that holds the sword
Unless we learn that
Love is the only thing we should be fighting for
Court Poet 