Author's Note: I've never combined two poems in the same post before but these works seemed so related to me I figured I would try it. The following are found poems. Both are electronic communications from allies whose words and opinions I've come to value.
Picture
of Me, Unbeknowst
This is icture is a picture of me taken the day of SMUG vs. Lively
trial. It was taken without my knowledge by someone from Mass Resistance, aLGBT hate group, who was there to support equally anti-LGBT pastor Scott Lively as his lawyer motioned to dismiss a lawsuit broughtby a Ugandan LGBT group. They also hate me, personally, because I don't fit their warped stereotype of an LGBT person. |
Source material: Mike
Volkman's response to my Facebook post. This response was sent at approximately midnight on January 15, 2013 EST.
So they like lipstick
lesbians and bull dykes;
those are okay to hate
in the normal way,
but you are way off the charts
and they just don't know how to
protect
the world from you?
What kind of prayers can they come up
with for your salvation?
They can't figure that one out.
Breathe and Entreat
Author's Note: I was supposed to attend this trial, but ongoing health concerns prevented my attendance. This poem is my attempt to invoke the good well of the universe on behalf of Charles.
Source material: Daniel Keefe's e-mail of January 15, 2013 at 7:29 PM EST
Hello Friends -
We are on the home
stretch
of the Commonwealth
v. Charles Wilhite trial.
The prosecution,
led by
Assistant District
Attorney Blake Rubin
finally rested their case today.
Rubin belabored
EVERYTHING
day after day after day,
proving little.
Today, the defense
introduced their case
with refreshing crispness and punch.
Tomorrow (Wednesday)
the defense will rest
their case, both sides will present closing
arguments ,
and the judge will ask
the jury to deliberate.
We are so close to the
end, but we are not there yet.
We need to
maintain our presence at the courthouse
tomorrow.
Please join us a
second-to-last time
in the courtroom (the final time will be when
the jury
announces the verdict)
to show the world our support
for Charles and his
family.
We will be
congregating on the sidewalk
outside the courthouse
at 8:00 am for
a quick energizing
loud and vibrant rally,
followed by court
proceedings at 9:00am.
Join us when you can!
If you can't attend,
you can do other things:
post on facebook,
tweet, send positive vibes, pray.
So many people have
attended parts of the trial
(i'd guess there have
been close to 150 different people).
Thank you to everyone
who has attended, in body
and in spirit.
We are almost
there!
Charles is almost
there. He has been
unjustly
imprisoned for 3
years, 3 months, and 29 days.
We have heard
this quote
many times over the course
of this campaign,
but now, on the
birthday of Martin Luther King Jr,
it takes on special
meaning:
"The arc of the
moral universe is long,
but it bends toward
justice."
keeping my fingers
crossed -
Dan