The Stonewall Uprising 42nd Anniversary

I am not gay
But I was happy
To hear
That gay men and women
Had risen up
At the Stonewall
42 years ago
6/29/69
Against
The killer cops
And mafia bosses
Who controlled
Their lives
And who
Had made
Their lives
Into a living hell
Just like
The Nazis
Used to do
To Jews
And homosexuals
And gypsies
And undesirables
Of all sorts
Who did not
Fit into
“Normal” society
As defined
By psychotic
Social deviants
Parading
As defenders
Of moral decency
Back then
I was too young
And too green
And too unseasoned
To be able
To fully comprehend
The notion
That homophobia kills
Just as anti-semitism
Inevitably
Ultimately
Leads to
Genocide
Homophobia
Inevitably
Ultimately
Leads to
Gay bashing
To murder
And to every
Other unspeakable
Act of repression
That a homophobic
Society
Can and does
Inflict
On those
It considers
To be
Second class
Citizens
Before the Stonewall uprising
There was no such thing
As coming out of the closet
There was no out
There was only in
Stonewall changed all that
Giving birth to
The gay liberation movement
After Stonewall
There would be
No going back
The world had changed
Gays would not stand
For discrimination
Based on sexual orientation
Ever again
As a straight ally
Of the LGBTQ movement
I cheer them on
I join their ranks
The spirit of
The Stonewall Uprising
Lives on
With every
Gay pride parade
We are a kind
And gentle people
And we are all fighting
Fighting for our lives

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011