KarMel Scholarship 2007

 

 “Ruby Red”

By Anonymous

 

 

Desciption of Submission: A short Slam Poem reinforcing the the possibility of equailty if only people would put their own fears aside.

 

 

 

 

 

My body is my temple

And I will kneel and worship everyday

To protect you in this land of decay

But when I hold your hand to cross the street

So that you will be safe on the other side

All you can say is,

“Ew, that’s gay.”

 

 

Well kid, you’ve got a lot to learn about the world today.

I can’t get married.

I can’t have kids,

I am a second rate citizen when I step outside

To play the game I was born to play.

 

 

My people are clad in couture fabrics

Fabulous bags

Leather jackets

And Ruby Red Cosmos

Because I know how to live well.

I swell at great voices like Judy, Liza, Barbara, and Bette

Because they will never let us forget what love is

What struggle is

And how much we need each other

In the luckiest of ways

 

 

But you’re more afraid of me.

You’d rather step into oncoming traffic alone

Than hold my hand

For fear you might squeeze back,

Well that’s sad kid but I’ll cut you some slack

 

 

Because I know where you came from

I lived next door.

I saw you crying on your floor.

Wanting to be more than your football, basketball, and soccer ball would let you.

But listen, here’s something to chew.

 

 

What if we lived side by side

I had my husband you had your bride

We threw parties in our backyard

And invited the world to sip on our Budweiser

And Ruby reds

 

 

And all we heard was laughing and play

So that when we went to our separate beds

After putting our kids to sleep

We can close our eyes and say to ourselves

 

 

When I cross the street tomorrow

In this world of decay,

I can hold my brothers and sisters hands

No matter how, who, or what they play

And we will reach the other side O.K.

 

 

 

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