Gay poems
Love is love… is love. But that doesn’t mean “love” means or feels the same every time you encounter it. Celebrating LGBTQIA+ love means acknowledging all the other types of feelings we have, whether it’s romantic treasure for a loved one, love for our community, love for ourselves or even love for a specific place. These poems celebrate lgbtq+ love, whether that love is pleasant, bittersweet or somewhere in between.
When You’re Feeling Wildly, Exuberantly in Love, Study Andrea Gibson’s Love Poem.
Love Poem contains all the agony and ecstasy of early love. From Gibson’s epically passionate declaration, “You are the moon when it blooms for the very first time” to their brutally honest line, “It’s true when we argue you make me wanna rip off my nose, bone and all,” this poem celebrates both the highs and lows of a giddy new love affair.
When You’re Feeling Grateful for Your Significant other, Read June Jordan’s Poem for My Love.
This poem tells the sweet story of two lovers, safe inside and marveling at their relationship:
I am amazed by peace
It is this possibility of you
asleep
and breathing in the quiet air
Poem for My Love showcases the gentler and calmer side of love; the po
MY KIDNAPPER IS DEAD, AND MY DADDY'S LITTLE SHY BOY IN ME, IS WITH DAD
DING **** MY KIDNAPPER IS Gone, THAT IS WHY I ALLOWED TED BUNDY
TO TAKE ME YEAH, I WANTED TO KIDNAP MY KIDNAPPER
HOPING THE SPIRIT Nature CAN **** MY KIDNAPPER, OH YEAH
I KNOW IT’S ****** Tough, CAUSE, THE SCHITZOPHRENIA, WAS GIVING ME THE ****** YRGE
I Establish IT HARD TO RID THE URGE, SO I MADE TED BUNDY’S GHOST TIE ME UP
BUT THIS MADE ME FIGHT MY FATHER, AND FORCE ME ON MEDICATION
WHICH MADE THE NICEST Dude, BUT MY KIDNAPPER KEPT COMING BACK
DING **** I WANTED MY KIDNAPPER DEAD, I KNOW I ANNOYED A LOT OF PEOPLE
TRYING TO GRAB THEM OH YEAH
I GRABBED A FEW SCHOOL MATES, AND THAT IS WHY I WAS TREATED LIKE A YEAH MATE YEAH KID
I WANT TO GET REOFORMED, BUT A VOICE SAID, NO YOUR NOR REFORMED
AND I WORKED AT THE RAINBOW, HELPING THE MENTALLY ILL
AND I FELT LIKE A HAPPY CHIRPY COOL KID GOING TO THE BEACH AND BUSHWALKING
AND WORKING IN THE RAINBOW KITCHEN, AND NOBODY WANTED TO TEASE ME
CAUSE I HELPED TO GIVE THEM A MEAL, I WAS A Hip KID, AND VERY VERY CHIRPY
AND THEN IN 2002, I FELT REALLY CRAZY, THE PARANORMAL SHOVING VOICES IN MY HEAD
WHICH WAS, I WAS THE KID, KILLED BY THE ******, THE AME
LGBTQ Poetry
Explore the rich tradition of gay, lesbian, pansexual, transgender, and lgbtq+ poets and poetry by browsing a selection of poems & audio. For more essays, video, and ephemera, examine out our Parade Month roundup.
Featured Poems
“Hair” by Francisco Aragón
who conceived that ravine
“Langston Blues” by Jericho Brown
O Blood of the River of songs ...
“The Distant Moon” by Rafael Campo
Admitted to the hospital again ...
“Where Is She ::: Koté Li Yé” by R. Erica Doyle
Long ago I met / a gorgeous boy ...
“Things Haunt” by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza
California is a desert and I am a female inside it ...
“Kudzu” by Saeed Jones
I won't be forgiven / for what I've made / of myself ...
“The Talking Back of Miss Valentine Jones: Poem # one” by June Jordan
well I wanted to braid my hair ...
“Breathe. As in. (shadow)” by Rosamond S. King
Breathe / . As in what if ...
“The Dark Unicorn” by Audre Lorde
The black unicorn is greedy ...
“I Do” by Sjohnna McCray
Driving the street from Atlanta to Phoenix ...
Today is National Coming Out Day. I’m reminded of the book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. In their email exchanges, Simon and Blue chat about why straight people don’t have to appear out. The answer, of course, is heteronormativity. When straight is the “default,” you only have to come “out” if you’re not straight. Simon and Blue go on to coin the term The Homo Sapiens Agenda. This involves everyone having to come out, making coming out a universal human experience. As much as I’d love to notice that, it’s still always gonna be easier to come out as direct.
Whether you’ve been in the closet a brief or long time, you know it can be at least a small dark and a brief scary. If you’re still in the closet, just know that I’m sending you light. Coming out, letting your queerness be seen and celebrated can be wonderful. But the closet can feel guarded and familiar as good. You get to accomplish that for as prolonged as you want to and need to. It doesn’t make you any less queer. When you come out, and who you come out to, is a deeply personal choice. If you execute choose to, there’s a whole community of people wai