Queer Quill - A Collection of Poems

I am rooted down

To the centre of the earth

Spinning and burning

I was born of clay

Yet pierced by stones and arrows

Lodged deep and buried

I have my limits

Often compelled to push through

Few see what it costs

I must arm myself

With friends, wisdom, compassion

Best weapons of all

In the emptiness

Behind my tired red eyes

Civilisation

I cherish this cat

As equal to my own life

Harm him and you die

Did I get this job

Due to my identity

Or was it my skill?

I am so prepared

To be rejected again

That I dare not hope

Bodies remember

They try to protect against

The harms of the past

I wake. Remember.

Grief burns a hole in my heart

Memories bleed through

I am afraid I

Step on other peoples’ toes

I fear causing harm

There are some limits

To what each can accomplish

Acceptance is key

I match expression

To expectation and cues

Rather than myself

I sow tiny seeds

Of kindness, joy, compassion

What I hope to reap

I do what I love

Not to try and be the best

But for the pure joy

It all comes back to

Stories retold and new made

We compose the world

All the rage in me

The sorrow quells at the sight

Of my sleeping cat

Do not fly too close

With your fragile wings of wax

Such a way to fall

My right foot is warm

Covered by the furry head

Of my sleeping cat

Is it not boring

To be seen as but one thing

And not multitudes

When I call your name

And the answer is silence

I taste salty tears

The time we both shared

Already feels like a dream

This pain a nightmare

Don’t overthink it

Stop that train of thought right there

Inhabit yourself

We construct anchors

Out of impermanent things

Forever adrift

It’s not betrayal

To smile even though you’re gone

You want me happy

If I can love this

Little ball of fluff, surely

I can love myself

It is hard to write

When a kitten eats your pen

But adorable

I commune with love

When I look into your eyes

A rapture of joy

My life is a speck

A single grain of stardust

Lost among the dunes

Consumerism

Sisyphean cycle of

Filling a black hole

I am a mirror

Reflecting myself onto

Everyone else

Do not fly too close

With your fragile wings of wax

Such a way to fall

Family is heart

Whether chosen or by blood

My people, my home

Why do we believe

The worst in every stranger

The best in ourselves

Existential angst

Every day of my life

I need to live well

My skin comes alive

Underneath your fingertips

Your heart joined with mine

Hope is radical

To believe the best of us

Whilst watching the worst

You squeeze me tightly

Two souls adrift in the night

Holding each other

We are all simply

Myriads of molecules

Connected, confused

We create meaning

From darkness we weave our lives

Burning bright and gone

You make me happy

I would follow you to hell

For the company

I am more myself

Each day a new becoming

Endless creation

We don’t understand

The alchemy of ourselves

The power we breathe

What are we if not

Miracles here together

In the face of death

We walk hand in hand

Explorations, adventures

Unknown but hope-filled