Jamez Sitings: They Don’t Have To Say ‘Gay’

We were
Unspeakable
Deniable

We existed just the same

Our forbidden haunts,
Sacred sanctuary.
Our forbidden love, 
Forever true.

Self-celebratory,
We outgrew shame.
Evolved into ourselves.
Marched the streets with joy
And pride.

They’d try to beat us down,
But hate can never win.
1 in 10, we’d rise again.
Stronger for our suffering.
Louder for our pain.

Again, they seek to silence us.
Make it criminal to speak of us.
Try, again, to deny our existence.

It’s laughable.
It’s ridiculous.
Infuriating.

They erase our history from their books,
As if we’ll disappear.

But we’re still here.

Always have been.
Always will be.

We will not be silenced.
Will not be denied.
Never again relegated to closets
Nor identities regulated by government.

They don’t have to say it.
We don’t need them to say anything.

We exist
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
Within the vast spectrum of life.