To belong is the stuff of tribes
by link of blood or sterner stuff
to this mark I would aspire
knowing the odds I would quest

when I am honest in my desires
I seek the same in other souls
not to indulge, only to know
I’m not alone against the world

it’s not that the larger has to hate
though this is the outcome when they confront
the deviant they don’t understanding
(the label their words, a knife they weld)

into this breach my tribe should arrive
if they were one, not cast to the wind
a secret society is more than mold
when smiles and nods move to disclosed

know that this web is my family
a tribe dispersed to the four winds
some of us vocal, the rest in disguise
only revealed to their same kind

to belong is the stuff of tribes
even when hidden from the broad eye
embracing my kin defined by desires
fruits of my search, lifting me up.

© 2017. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved. 20170514.