Poems for gay men
LGBTQ Poetry
Explore the rich tradition of gay, lesbian, bisexual, genderqueer, and queer poets and poetry by browsing a selection of poems & audio. For more essays, video, and ephemera, inspect out our Pride Month roundup.
Featured Poems
&#;Hair&#; by Francisco Arag&#;n
who conceived that ravine
&#;Langston Blues&#; by Jericho Brown
O Blood of the River of songs
&#;The Distant Moon&#; by Rafael Campo
Admitted to the hospital again
&#;Where Is She Kot&#; Li Y&#;&#; by R. Erica Doyle
Long ago I met / a pretty boy
&#;Things Haunt&#; by Joshua Jennifer Espinoza
California is a desert and I am a gal inside it
&#;Kudzu&#; by Saeed Jones
I won't be forgiven / for what I've made / of myself
&#;The Talking Help of Miss Valentine Jones: Poem # one&#; by June Jordan
well I wanted to braid my hair
&#;Breathe. As in. (shadow)&#; by Rosamond S. King
Breathe / . As in what if
&#;The Black Unicorn&#; by Audre Lorde
The black unicorn is greedy
&#;I Do&#; by Sjohnna McCray
Driving the highway from Atlanta to Phoenix
&#;syntax&#; by Maureen
Love is love… is love. But that doesn’t mean “love” means or feels the same every time you exposure it. Celebrating LGBTQIA+ love means acknowledging all the unlike types of feelings we have, whether it’s romantic affection for a spouse, love for our community, love for ourselves or even love for a specific place. These poems celebrate homosexual love, whether that love is lovely, bittersweet or somewhere in between.
When You’re Feeling Wildly, Exuberantly in Love, Study Andrea Gibson’s Love Poem.
Love Poem contains all the agony and ecstasy of early love. From Gibson’s epically quixotic declaration, “You are the moon when it blooms for the very first time” to their brutally honest line, “It’s true when we argue you make me wanna rip off my nose, bone and all,” this poem celebrates both the highs and lows of a giddy new love affair.
When You’re Feeling Grateful for Your Companion, Read June Jordan’s Poem for My Love.
This poem tells the sweet story of two lovers, safe inside and marveling at their relationship:
I am amazed by peace
It is this possibility of you
asleep
and b
This is my gay poem
My poem about pride
And about finally coming out to my parents after 23 years
But you know some news falls on cotton-filled ears
Never bothering to seek where they got the cotton from.
And I haven’t seen my father since then
And I am holding on to the limited memories where I was happy at home
Where I didn’t want to leave
Where I didn’t want to leave
Where I didn’t hope for to die
I was still a child the first time they said they hate gay people
I was 11 when I first remember thinking they were right.
And every year after I hid deeper and deeper until I was drowning
Until my lungs were screaming out for air
And I never looked back
Or at least I could never go back
But sometimes I miss a adorable scarf or hat I left in that closet and have to convince myself I am surpass off without them
No matter how safe they made me feel
Or how affectionate the fabric
But I shattered that closet
It doesn’t exist
I threw a brick through its doors
And Martha P. Johnson did it first
And we will continue to throw bricks
Until they finally stop killing us
Until we stop counting
Today is National Coming Out Day. I&#;m reminded of the book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. In their email exchanges, Simon and Blue discuss about why straight people don&#;t have to approach out. The answer, of course, is heteronormativity. When straight is the &#;default,&#; you only have to come &#;out&#; if you&#;re not straight. Simon and Blue go on to coin the term The Homo Sapiens Agenda. This involves everyone having to come out, making coming out a universal human experience. As much as I&#;d love to spot that, it&#;s still always gonna be easier to come out as unbent.
Whether you&#;ve been in the closet a brief or long time, you know it can be at least a short-lived dark and a minuscule scary. If you&#;re still in the closet, just know that I&#;m sending you light. Coming out, letting your queerness be seen and celebrated can be wonderful. But the closet can feel sound and familiar as adv. You get to complete that for as prolonged as you want to and need to. It doesn&#;t make you any less queer. When you come out, and who you come out to, is a deeply personal choice. If you accomplish choose t