Queer, Freak, Abnormal they say
Twisted, malformed or out of the way
A kind, a de trop, a deviant type
A travesty, a sham, a contagious hype
You labelled us strange
And want us to change
Like we all are ill, or mange
All you did was, estrange
We’ve been framed, all lies behind
Eccentric, a sickness, we’ve been defined
For years in shackles, we’ve been confined
Alas! You imprisoned one of your kind
What we live is a miserable life
A hide-out attempt, a major strife
A Rumour, a phobia that ran rife
Our lives worthless, merely trife
What do we have, a mere desire?
Trapped in a corner of freedom less square
Repressed voices, bodies on fire
Or hire, or bier, for a matter of attire
Strength of yours might be your history
Or knowledge, or wonders of your victory
But less of numbers will be our mystery
The deeds of ours will be benedictory
Abnormal us, normal y’all pretend
Sadly mistaken that fight has no end
We’ll be fighting, as tall we stand
We’ll defend, blend, and to amend
Space, a place is all we need
Requested for long, and plead
Queer ‘we’ all, red we bleed
Similar we share, the seed and breed.
All of you needs such queer bites
Upgrading brain, uprooting plights
Long we craved to have right to rights
If not the dawn, dusk will be our lights
This poem is among the 13 shortlisted poems under the Rhyme and Reason contest by Rainbow Literature Festival and Gaylaxy, and supported by The Qknit,that was held in May.
- Idled States of Bharat: United by Sexes Divided by Genders - November 3, 2023
- Oye Didi! The Tale of Two Young Boys from Punjab - October 27, 2021
- #RhymeAndReason : Queer We - June 18, 2020