I watched my father,
put his truths in the closet to hide.
A vertical coffin for his pride.
He fought for the freedom of his country,
but never had his own freedom.
He carried burdens I cannot fathom.
I wear my heart on my sleeve,
not to be easily stolen or taken away,
it’s so the world knows I’m proud to be gay.
I carry the pride of myself and my father,
I live out and loud,
so my father’s spirit can stand beside me, proud.
I live in my truths for that mighty man in the shadows,
so that even in death he can be truly free.
I will never stop fighting those who never got to live a proud reality.
About the Creator
Josey Pickering
Autistic, non-binary, queer horror nerd with a lot to say.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insight
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
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Comments (17)
Congratulations on top story
Beautifully penned! Kudos on being top-storied!
👍 nice work, congrats on top story 💯👏
❤️❤️
Congrats on top story!!! 💕
Your father would be proud! This is so heartfelt 🙏 We all need to live our lives authentically and be allowed to do it in our own way 🙏✨
Congrats on TS
My heartfelt congratulations for this remarkable feat ..🎉🎉
Absolutely stunning work and story you expressed here. To live as you are carries so much more weight than many of us can even process. So many people in generations past were unable to do that.
A very well deserved Top Story with an important message all can learn from. Live life as you are; you have a right to be here just like anyone else.
ALL CAPS HERE TO MAKE A POINT!! FIRST: CONGRATULATION ON TS. THIS IS EXCELLENT....... it's a long story, but we've had a suicide in my family because one young man was gay .... that said: THIS IS A TRUE REMINDER THAT WE SHOULD NEVER JUDGE ANYONE. LIVE AND LET LIVE. WE ARE ALL HUMAN AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH. THANK YOU FOR SHARING WHAT IS A MAGNIFICENT POEM. LOVE IT.
Very powerful!
loved reading this. your father would be proud of you living freer than he could.
Beautiful 🥺
A beautiful tribute to a man whose legacy is only partly known to most.
Almost feels like a painful tribute, a testament to live freer for those who couldn’t. Will be featuring this tomorrow in our queer vocal voices Facebook group. Would love to have you join if you’re interested :)
The contrast between your father's fight for his country's freedom and his own lack of personal freedom adds a powerful layer of complexity to the narrative, your commitment to living your truth and fighting for the rights of others who couldn't experience a proud reality is inspiring, we‘re deeply moved by the poem, loved it, and hope to read more of your work, thank you very much again for sharing this spiritual journey that touched our hearts Josey, subscribed.