This week, I decided to try my hand at poetry, in response to Prompt 2. (It only went okay.) I did my very best to mimic the stylings of Sappho. Her poem [Like the very gods] was my main inspiration. Here, she writes about not being able to express her feelings for a woman openly. I played with this idea and reversed it in a way by writing a poem from the perspective of a queer protester in the first PRIDE parade. Minneapolis was home to the first PRIDE parade, where many people came out to their communities for the first time. Here’s what I came up with:
Let us finally celebrate our purest selves,
no longer stricken to silence, moving forward
together under one banner, visible now
our fingers intertwined
gravel underfoot; I am rejuvenated by
the harmonious choir of queer voices, demanding
inclusion and freedom from persecution
for unabashed affection
Footfalls shake the archways of the bridge, carrying
echoes of change across the river, decades in the making
passions no longer masked or confined to dimly-lit bars
vibrant flags flying fervently
The private now public, we fill the boulevard with spirit
protesting and dreaming together of another reality
where we can kiss on strolls by the lake, without
fearing hateful retribution
As far as we know, Sappho’s poems were unnamed, so I left my poem unnamed as well. I tried to mimic the romantic, passionate language Sappho used in her writings by including descriptions of familiar, intimate gestures like holding hands and kissing. I also did my best to mimic the format of its stanzas to Sappho’s original work. My hope is that this poem helps viewers connect on a more personal level to the stories told throughout the archive by humanizing the activists involved in these historic events.