John Oxenham of Manchester left behind a number of provocative short
poems. I especially like this onel
"He drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that shut him in."
Along side that one, I lay Robert Frost's declaration, "Something there is in me that doesn't like a wall, that wants it down."
For so many lonely years I wanted to be a part of a loving, accepting community. I supposed I had found it in the fellowship of LGBT persons.
That was naive, wasn't it? Is there a more exclusive club anywhere than ours?
The lament so long cried against a rigid and stubborn orthodoxy is "Everyone must be like I am. No room for dissent. Not even room for bargaining. This is how it is, was, and evermore shall be!"
How shockingly discouraging it has been to seek inclusion and bump immediately into the impenetrable circle that shouts the same prohibitive dictum to me, that shuts me out. This way. My way. My experience. My orientation. My preferences. My vocabulary. My cleverness.
Like Peter Finch's character said in the movie, "Broadcast News," I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more."
Rant ended. Of course I will take it some more. I just needed to scream a bit.
We have others walls to bring down, other circles to construct. One brick at a time.
poems. I especially like this onel
"He drew a circle that shut me out,
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win,
We drew a circle that shut him in."
Along side that one, I lay Robert Frost's declaration, "Something there is in me that doesn't like a wall, that wants it down."
For so many lonely years I wanted to be a part of a loving, accepting community. I supposed I had found it in the fellowship of LGBT persons.
That was naive, wasn't it? Is there a more exclusive club anywhere than ours?
The lament so long cried against a rigid and stubborn orthodoxy is "Everyone must be like I am. No room for dissent. Not even room for bargaining. This is how it is, was, and evermore shall be!"
How shockingly discouraging it has been to seek inclusion and bump immediately into the impenetrable circle that shouts the same prohibitive dictum to me, that shuts me out. This way. My way. My experience. My orientation. My preferences. My vocabulary. My cleverness.
Like Peter Finch's character said in the movie, "Broadcast News," I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more."
Rant ended. Of course I will take it some more. I just needed to scream a bit.
We have others walls to bring down, other circles to construct. One brick at a time.