(for the LGBTQI community)
they came to steal the sun away
and silence all our songs and poems
for only ‘righteous’ folk may sing by the sunlight
so we sang by the light of a dying candle for years
we sang the songs of our scars and our wounds
cut into us by the othering of the day-thieves
our angry songs echoing through our bones and flesh
casting new songs and poems
this is how we sang and danced
in faltering light of the last candles, in the almost dark
stealing sun if we could, stealing hope if we couldn’t
they nearly forgot us there
but our songs grew louder
and the day-thieves knew their days were numbered
because our songs can’t be blotted out and silenced
and we’ve run out of candles