You burn my rainbow
because you are jealous
that you only see black and white.

No tinted windows.
No calm tone.
Just a lot of shade thrown as I wish I could kiss a man without the threat of kissing a fist

Amid the hateful rhetoric
Regurgitated by the KKK and the WBC,
we can thank God we are not dead soldiers

Rainbows embody tolerance
Maybe then,
you will get this leprechaun’s gold

and I won’t see red
as you become that green eyed monster.
Fuck your quartet of horsemen
as my revelation of your bigotry
is what will make me raise Hell.

But maybe it need not be raised.
Virtue burns every day with every violent act in the name of God and in that vein peace must reign

Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the waters Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the…
See you at 53 Christopher Street, address of the Stonewall Inn

Home of a landmark battle cry
Home of a landmark rebellion
Home of a landmark

See you in San Francisco where Harvey Milk was assassinated See you in Laramie where Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die See you at the George Washington Bridge where Tyler Clementi jumped See you in Orlando where 49 people were shot at Pulse See you in Chechnya where gay men only exist in prison camps

These are not talking points
These are human beings
and I’ll be damned if you say otherwise

And I’ll be double damned if you believe I will burn for all eternity And I’ll be triple damned if you believe I should burn here on Earth AND I’LL BE INFINITELY DAMNED

if you feel your hatred disguised as piety will lead you to the promised land and it’s easy to call shenanigans when lava drips from your mouth

So burn my rainbow if you wish
but it is resilient and the ashes of our LGBTQ ancestors retain the the color of every ray You may think your faith glitters, but it sure as hell ain’t gold

-Jack M. Freedman (Jacob Moses)

-Published by Gnashing Teeth Publishing (2020)