Permanent Rainbows

a human prism threw every color down Polk Street, 1972

to think, jailed for a kiss in New York just four years before

Ray and Taal

in love since forever

on the front line of the Stonewall Riots

from behind shut doors to the open arms of the Castro

found a little island of western hope

the Bay Bridge a gateway to

freedom at times

for poets and lovers

a golden day breaking

flags from Aquatic Park to Civic Center

Ray says a cafe is a fine home and coffee gives reason

for old rights fighters

to meet and remember

when they couldn’t meet without the threat of cuffs

and a shove into gray steel and cement

he storms in and the morning peace takes leave

he’s in tears and jitters because

“they were executed”

and the world still isn’t safe

the painter stops mid-stroke and his boot turns red

another couple murdered

it’s still

freedom at times

held hands a gamble

in Florida today

flags on headstones

rainbows are born and fade during spring storms

on the Twin Peaks in Frisco

while flags from Hell's Kitchen to Hillcrest and up to Capitol Hill

only multiply

calls for equality, their echos

don’t disappear between sirens and machinery

don’t fall down sewers that drain to the ocean

or get caught in clouds

so long as this prism throws light

these are permanent rainbows