Community Pride Poem

Queer Joy

Queer Joy is all I want.

It is accepting who you are

and having the confidence and pride

to express what you’ve found about yourself.

Queer Joy is

getting top surgery

and smiling every time you think about it :)

Queer Joy is

dissolving preconceived notions

of what we were taught.

It is taking off the chain mail

after a particularly fatal battle.

Queer Joy is

discovering what

you're capable of achieving.

Queer Joy is not

putting on clothes

for someone else's circus.

Queer joy is your grandpa,

who doesn’t speak much English,

asking for what pronouns

he should use

when talking to your

aunties.

Queer joy is

lightning in a bottle

straight to the heart.

Queer Joy is

the feeling of freedom

when you imagine a future

with your partner—and with yourself.

Queer joy is

what our beloved ancestors

and transcestors

would want us to feel.

Queer Joy is

holy and ancient

as the bend in the river.

Queer Joy is

contagious, captivating, complete.

It is the moral conviction

to keep searching what's inside you—

because you're staying right there

and right here.

Queer joy is

life lived

in pursuit of purpose.

It is hope

for all of humanity.

Queer Joy is long overdue!

It is a simple wish.

We’re counting on love—

and you.