the zoo

By a.lesser.thing

Mon, 15 Apr 2013
  • 458 reads
4 comments
 

I was on the left side of the right room.
The walls were purple and your nails were gold,
and our bodies, for once, didn't get cold. It's a mold.
The bread was dead and your bed was level with your
head.
A tread. Our feet were hitting the path, a bath,
and for once, we thought we'd make it.
But we didn't.

In the halls, we hear calls.
Faggot. In the cafeteria, they'll
clear ya from their window shields, as if
you were a bug that happened to get on them.
Faggot. Queer. Their leers, sharp, and you have
wished various times to be the bark on a tree.
I can read your mind, and you're thinking, "I'd
like to be anything but me." How could that be?

I see your shoulders tense when the boys in the
back of the classroom mumble loudly, harshly, about
how you're a "fucking lesbian," and the people around
them laugh. I see you walk faster, clutching your
phone like a lifeline when the guys behind
you call you a shemale.

You don't speak up, because
you've learned harsher things, like how
they could pull out a knife, a gun, or rape you,
or take a baseball bat and bash your head in. And
you've learned that the people who say they're there
aren't there, because they side with their religion
more than they do their school responsibilities.

You're scared
and taught that
you aren't like
the people at school.
You're a caged animal
there for them to spit on.

This, us, all stuck on the left side
of the right room.

Certificate 15
Poem
Unclassified

Comments

Submitted by littleditty on
'And you've learned that the people who say they're there aren't there, because they side with their religion more than they do their school responsibilities.' this poem is excellent, These lines make me feel angry, and some of the shame we had to tackle, that was given to us, not ours - a Prime Minister of ours died recently, Thatcher, and i was reminded of her decade+ in power, how it attempted to gag us, Sectioned us teacher-types, with a legal clause called Section 28 - teachers gagged from 'promoting' ie even talking about homosexuality -that was difficult, I'm an English teacher, and made us, all, feel uncertain what we could say or not - in a way, a removal of our voices, on this subject. In that confusion came some shame, many demonstrations, and much frustration, esp for people like me, fearing all manner of accusations in a homophobic climate, sucks as you well know. It was horrible! 'You're scared and taught that you aren't like the people at school. You're a caged animal' We fought it, in demonstrations, covertly too, in the classrooms, in knowing our kids, doing what we could, listening, just knowing..there are such types in your school? We were all at school once too, when the dark ages were much darker. Bit better now, although bullying is always going to be there, and always will have to be challenged. You, however, know which teachers/people have your back, and yes, an understanding that religious or other belief systems like politics, draw lines around people -great poem -you make me talk too much!!Well done. :) 'This, us, all stuck on the left side of the right room.'

 

Submitted by scratch on
Excellent comment littleditty. Clause 28 was a black time in a period of dark policy and legislation that would have been more at home in the statements of the Third Reich rather than a UK government of the eighties. For shame, but not in my name.

 

Submitted by littleditty on
Cause 28 became Clause 29 and it's influence felt throughout the 90's and into 2000's, repealed finally in 2004 - 'Section 28 became law on 24 May 1988. The night before, several protests were staged by lesbian women, including abseiling into Parliament and a famous invasion of the BBC's Six O'Clock News,[4] during which one woman managed to chain herself to Sue Lawley's desk and was sat on by the newscaster Nicholas Witchell' !!! (wiki) a.l.t's poem and poetry reminds us that everything is not ok now btw, for so many, still. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28 www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VRRWuryb4k Thatcher's anti-gay speech 1 minute, crit by OUTnow -good.

 

Submitted by a.lesser.thing on
Glad to make you talk! It's always incredibly nice to get feedback, let alone to make people think and try to fight out against the harsh situations that people are still in. It's very hard in our school. We have a town of about 20,000+, and one high school with a student body of about 1,800, and while there are some out, proud, gay students, there are barely any backings for these people. We don't even have a Gay-Straight alliance anymore, because of drama that came up and actual violence, even between members. I do know that I have teachers there for me, however, so it's not all bad. It just sucks that the vast majority of the people around me aren't there for me, and at times, I'm not there for myself. As I said in one of my earlier poems: "wished I was ill, wished that I just wasn't here. Hand me a beer. I don't want to be my parent's tranny, faggot kid." Hard to come to terms with the person you are, person you aren't, let alone to be fearful of who can or cannot support that person. Nearly puked while watching Thatcher's speech. Being an American, I'm reminded of how this video of Mitt Romney's discussion with a gay war veteran came out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRN9Y5Nvdqk Let alone that Romney is a slimy human being in general... awful. Quick, not-exact quote from what the veteran says in that video (I rushed it a bit, because I have to return to school): "Because I'm gay, alright? And I happen to love a man just like you probably love your wife. And I think that he, or she, or whatever, are entitled to the same rights that I have. I went and fought for my country, I did the right thing, and I think that my spouse is entitled to the same benefits, or rights, that I and a woman would be!" Gay marriage is legal in my state, and for that, I am very fortunate. I'm also lucky with the trans-law in my state, because I only have to be on hormones to get my legal gender changed, which I'm definitely going to look towards in the future. Equality is supposed to be for all, not just one group. I hope that in my lifetime, everyone will be able to see that.