They will march, walk, wheel, dance, shimmy and shake
Block upon block of undulating color, flesh, banners, signs, clothing or lack thereof
Hands raised, hands linked, apart, together
Singing, shouting, chanting, silent,
Joyous, tearful, nervous, afraid, proud, defiant, angry, happy, delirious, tentative, ecstatic, courageous, brave, free

The stereotype
The unrecognizable
The flamboyant
The ordinary
The parent, the child
The runaway, the lost, the lonely, the found

Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Trans, Queer, Intersexed, Questioning
Allies
Those who taunt and jeer
Their banners of hate 10 feet tall:
“God made Adam and Eve; not Adam and Steve”
“Burn in Hell”
The other slogans:
“Straight but Not Narrow”
“I love my gay child”
“Standing on the Side of Love”

One day a year
One out of 365
Mardi Gras out of season
Festive, bacchanalian, tame,
Booths, food, shopping!

Underneath there is a history:
Resistance.
It was the marginalized of the marginalized,
Drag queens, transvestites, the butch and the femme
Who unlike Rosa Parks did not sit down,
But in their tired rage
Stood up, rose up
fought back
holding the police captive in the bars they had come to raid,
their weapons: their oppression, their hands, beer bottles
Stonewall
Six days of riots in New York
June 1969

A year later a march in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, L.A., San Fran
And now, any weekend in June, anywhere around the world, PRIDE

Why do we march?
For those who are not able
For those who have been murdered
For those who are ravaged by disease
For those who are still beaten, still taunted, still harassed, still victims still targets

Why do we march?
Because some truths ain’t self-evident
Because all men ain’t protected equal

And we love a good party…

They will march, walk, wheel, dance, shimmy and shake
Block upon block of undulating color, flesh, banners, signs, clothing or lack thereof
Hands raised, hands linked, apart, together
Singing, shouting, chanting, silent,
Joyous, tearful, nervous, afraid, proud, defiant, angry, happy, delirious, tentative, ecstatic, courageous, brave—

Free.