Battle Flag
© Geoffrey Stewart 2023

In a time of Persecution & Plague,
With the forces of Authoritarianism & Oligarchy arrayed against us,
When it seemed all the world had turned their backs on us,
We turned to one another.

Across lines of history & culture & fear & past mistakes,
We found new families & founded communities,
When others refused to help them, or us,
We cared for our own sick & our own dying,
We fed our hungry & housed our homeless.

We created safety nets & shields of mutual-aid & cooperative economics,
We created art & literature, culture & music,
We took Pride in our history & our heroes, in our own human worth and dignity,
And, Yes, the movement included dance.

From the kaleidoscopic lights of the dancefloors,
To dimly lit Holiday tables, To neon lit corner diners,
To the streets & to the town squares & to the spotlight of the public discourse,
To the Halls of the Holy, To the Courts of Justice, To the Seats of Government,
We spoke truth to power.

We took badges of horror and shame placed upon us
By those who had given themselves over to evil,
We transformed them into shields,
Into symbols of our Pride & of our Power,
Uplifted them into banners of protest & into our Battle Flag.

Then, together, we as a community,
With our families of choice & blood,
With our friends & fellow travelers,
Allies in philosophy & faith,
We, as a gentle angry people,
We bent the moral arc of universe towards justice.

We. Will. Do. So. Again.