Special Feature: "Love on the March," Selected Tanka for LGBT Pride Month

My Dear Friends:

Today marks the first Sunday of LGBT Pride Month, and many pride events are held during this month not only to recognize the impact LGBT people have had in the world, but also to promote the self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people as a social group. I would like share with you the following tanka that celebrate diversity and LGBTQ communities, acknowledge their history, the hardships they have endured, and the progress that has been made. 

Selected Tanka

he strips off

the short skirts

from those high, thick walls

and makes a window big enough

to come out

Tanja Trček

more glamorous

than the audience

he sang

swivelling his hips

jewels glittering

Lorne Henry

I’d like to be a man

not for a day

but for a night

just to take a walk

alone in it

Laura Maffei

spotting

Vincent Van Gogh

on the subway,

I whisper in his good ear,

“We are all beautiful.”

M. Kei

she left me

for a woman in red

at the beach

I hear mermaids

singing each to each

Chen-ou Liu

my son’s boyfriend 

three words i practice saying

alone in my room

while fireflies in love

beckon at my window

Roberta Beary

my partner and I

both wearing white dresses

down the aisle

I feel a jealous pang . . .

he looks better in heels

Tracy Davidson

out of the blue

that moment of surprise

the ecstasy

of wanting to be part

of same-sex exploration

Patricia Prime

sweet niece

even sweeter

as nephew

inner strength flows more freely

as the road opens up

Kath Abela Wilson

 

To conclude today's LGBT Pride Month post, I wrote the following tanka sequence for my late friend Brian Zimmer:

Love on the March

a phalanx

of bull dykes and drag queens

rioted at the Stonewall ...

two male cops French-kissing

in the sunny Pride Parade

Jesus had two dads

he turned out just alright ...

holding the sign 

an old gay sighs, to be a man

I cut out soft parts of myself

if God hates gays

why are we so cute?

behind the banner

I see his eyes glow

with a bright blue of hope

Happy Reading

Chen-ou