It’s not until you go to the parade,
Watch couples walking hand and hand,
With authentic smiles stretched across their faces,
That you realize why they call it pride.
With rainbows splashed across the canvases of their bodies,
And cheers jumping out of their throats,

They celebrate.

Loudly they thank the men and women of Stonewall,
Step by step the march for Harvey Milk,
Together they cry for Tyler Clementi.
Smiles illustrate how grateful they are,
For one day out of the year they’re not kept hidden,
Herded into culture specific bars,
For one day they can dream that their love is acknowledged,
In more than eleven states.
Pretending that they are not surrounded by picket signs,

They celebrate.

It’s not until you see freedom,
That you can admit the cruelty of oppression.

-Morghan Fuller