[poem] Semblance of an Ode to Desire…
Semblance of an Ode to Desire…
To the white gays,
and the gays who identify
as ‘casteless’, because they
don’t know theirs
to the admins of harmless hugs
and yaarian,
who demand integrity from everyone
and distance from muslims,
in the same breath on grindr
“ show integrity”
“ muslim dur rahein”
for whom bharat mata takes
precedence over homelessness
and joblessness and
the certified lawful incarceration
of bodies their desire
has no preference for
and to the gays who think
marriage is going to solve their
daddy issues,
peel off years and layers of shame
that sits comfortably
like second skin
for the ones who think Marsha P. Johnson
fought for their rights
to suck dick and eat ass
while singing “you gave me wings”
to the already emancipated
who know and speak for everyone
I ask one, and only one thing
what is it like
to be enslaved
by the freedom
of your own desire?
NOTES
* In the context of the celebration of the reading down of 377 and a simultaneous petition to register ‘same-sex marriages’ within the Hindu Marriage Act.
* Harmless hugs and Yaarian are online lgbtq groups.
* “you gave me wings” is a song used significantly in the movie Brokeback Mountain.
* Marsha P. Johnson was one the significant queer activists who led the Stonewall Uprising.
