God’s Gifts to Us
I’ve been reading them for days now –
A group of sad or angry, dark or humorous
LGBT poets who – despite the fact that
My middle initial is “G” – outshine me
In every way.
Not because they’re L, G, B or T, mind you,
Nor because they’re Christians. Because they’re
**** Good!
I’ve described a mentor of mine thus:
She taught me “X,” but she really taught
Me to teach.
So when I read these men and women, I
Could say they’ve taught me to write,
And mean it!
To borrow the title of another poet,
If Jesus were gay – thank you,
Emanuel Xavier, I think our savior
Would approve.
Since I’ve borrowed from Mr. Xavier,
I guess it’s legal to borrow from a poem
I wrote, Coloring Kids. Color is a
Favorite theme of mine, be it
Crayons, skin, purple or artist’s blotches.
/Teachers may have red pens which can
Strip away the dreams of a child holding
A bigger-than-life yellow magic wand
In his fingers.
Priests, exacting confessions prematurely,
Wear collar and stole, no matter the sin,
To blanch milk-chocolate souls, prescribing
Fiddling with rosary beads.
Nuns, black and white, decked out in
Paisley prints these days, follow suit./
My colors and Mister’s crayolas are
Kindred spirits. When I read many of
The startling poems of these LGBT poets,
I smiled out loud, or giggled softly.
In some of their work I could hear
Them speed up: Giving a reading,
Perhaps – my heart fluttered hearing
In my mind the words of Mr. Holyoake’s
The Thief - and I think yours would
Skip a beat or two if you read the poem.
I also recommend the poem of Ms.
Heidenreich, not because she shares her
Name with my Junior High reading teacher,
But because of the awesome words in
I wanna be like Jesus: then surely Jesus
Loves the little homos or at least is
In touch with “the little gay man in
All of us.”
I suppose one might consider this a
Rave review of my Christian brothers’
And sisters’ work: I give thanks to Him
For giving it to us.
