by Lennox Ó'Súilleabháin
Pride started as a riot
It was a party the other day
Tens of thousands in the sweltering streets of Toronto
On that late June Sunday
Earning its name for the humidity and smell of sweat.
Celebration of a magnitude not seen in years
A coming out from a pandemic to let everyone’s queer flags fly,
IBM and RBC
Meta and the Canadian Army.
Institutions that built computer networks for the Nazis
To systematize and oppress our people
Companies known for spreading hate,
A hate acted upon now in a High Court.
For Toronto is not my home.
Far to the south the country I left descends,
One pillar at a time,
Each disintegrating into sand.
While I surround myself in revelry
And hypocrisy
My queer country-folk fight,
Rage against a dying empire-
A place run by malice and venality
It feels wrong to be so far
At a parade
While riot police form ranks to make
Pride a riot once more.
About the Creator
Lennox O'Suilleabhain
he/they
A new writer seeking an audience for the strange fantasy set in the worlds of Elias.
A former ghost writer wanting to find their own voice.
Inquiries to [email protected]
https://linktr.ee/lennoxosully
Keep reading
More stories from Lennox O'Suilleabhain and writers in Poets and other communities.
Camp Cookies
by Lennox Ó'Súilleabháin To say Camp Emerald Bay was beautiful would be an understatement. Idyllic and pristine, isolated in its own bay on the remote Santa Catalina Island, twenty-two miles off the coast of Southern California. The bay for which it was named clear and blue, beautiful both above and below the waves. A colorful array of sea life in its rocky waters. The camp running long into the rivets of the valleys that fed out to the ocean. Far from the orange glow of the Los Angeles sprawl, at night the Camp rested under a vast star cover. It was a place to explore, a place to relax, a place to make lifelong summer memories. This, however, is not about the camp itself. It is about its food.
By Lennox O'Suilleabhain4 years ago in Feast
Comments (1)
This has to be one of my favourite submissions so far, for After The Parade. I love the juxtaposition of themes. <3