what are homosexuals for?

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the light kills my sleep—an interloper
a fierce warrior spearing my lids.
I lie awake as my mother runs her mouth,
every word she speaks is a casualty.
I count her swear words to keep myself from thinking.
I wonder if they used the word shit in Shakespeare’s day,
somehow it doesn’t seem eloquent.

how dare I bring this homosexual shit into our house?
this trashy, low-grade, shit—(not very original)—
how dare I.

a book hits the wall,
the cover bending willfully to the force of the plaster.
A picture of two girls dressed in white,
cuddling,
already crumpling as it skids to a halt on the floor.

sixteen years and this is how I treat my mother?
I disrespect her home and her family,
allowing myself (degrading myself) to fall prey
to an unacceptable lifestyle.

I look into her eyes; I try to find a piece of peace.
I try to find a few flickering lights that might show me—
I am still her child.
But she has turned before I can even open my mouth,
and I am staring at her back, then at the slamming door.

and all I can think is,
if being yourself makes you a failure, can you really judge an imposter?

Comments & reviews · 10
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User avatar
Wojovox
Review
Wojovox wrote a review · Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:46 pm

Get back in her face. Though her actions are wrong, she does them in confidence, though it may be an unsure confidence.

Sounds like from her screaming, the only way you can get through to her is to scream back. If you are homosexual, don't question yourself. If you do question yourself, then your not sure giving your mother free room to roam with her temper to make an impression.

Find it best in my personal life that when someone thinks they know me, I get firm with my voice and my stance and make whoever questions me feel my confidence.



but, good honesty. and I'm on the wagon with everyone else. Last line is something I may quote down the line.

User avatar
Dia-777 Review
Dia-777 wrote a review · Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:14 pm

The topic grabs my attention, I love this poem, very creative,

The second verse is my favorite, it's do dramatic

I also love the tension, and how it builds up.


The last line, (if being yourself makes you a failure, can you really judge and imposter)

is Great ;]

User avatar
Nicolette
Review

First of all, I just wanted to say that I loooove free verse poetry. I don't think a good poem needs to have rhymes and even meters to be good, so thanks for proving that. :D

I love the unconventional topic and the point of view this poem is written in. You have a strong grasp on language. I did, however, think this line was a little awkward:

"this trashy, low-grade, shit—(not very original)—"

I think it kind of throws things off. Maybe "this trashy, low-grade, unoriginal shit" instead?

The last line is very powerful, however. A good way to bring the work to a close.

User avatar
Medusa
Comment

Thank you all, and sorry Nate, I should've checked up on the rules.

Random avatar
Soledad
Review
Soledad wrote a review · Tue Jun 24, 2008 9:35 pm

Interesting topic. You handled it really well, given it's such subject that is avoided the majority of the time.
I loved the last line, it's heartbreaking and sums up the whole poem beautifully. I also like how you ended with a question.
The repetition of 'I' is something which is often misused (and badly) but this was not the case here. For me, it emphasised the need human need to feel you are worth something, referring to anything as 'I' rather than for example 'it', gives it feelings and emotions and seemed to fit perfectly with overall question.
I would love to read more of this from you, you dealt with it brilliantly.

User avatar
Rei
Review
Rei wrote a review · Tue Jun 24, 2008 7:32 pm

Deinitely an interesting choice of topics, one that I personally have not seen much of. What does it do to a child if their parents hate homosexuality more than they love their child? It must be devistating, no matter how the child handles it, I would have liked to see more literary devices used, but you've captured that feeling very well.

User avatar
Nate
Review
Nate wrote a review · Tue Jun 24, 2008 5:48 pm

Hey Medusa, when posting a story or poem on YWS, if it has profanity, then it must be rated R. To read more about ratings on YWS, please see this:

viewarticlebody.php?t=19231

User avatar
Medusa
Comment

Thank you very much!

Well, Medusa. It has to be said.

That was a wonderful piece.

I confess it is not in a style that would normally appeal to me, but this worked. This worked just nicely.

The closing line is terrific in my opinion.

"if being yourself makes you a failure, can you really judge an imposter?"

This shows a wilful intellect far beyond many young writers.

Weldone.

I look forward to taking in more of your work.

:D



The thing about plummeting downhill at fifty miles an hour on a snack platter - if you realize it's a bad idea when you're halfway down, it's too late.
— Rick Riordan, The Son of Neptune