WHY shouldn't we OUT them
those LYING bastards in their posh MANSIONS,
living their SECRET lies,
attending their galas and pretentious, SHALLOW parties,
while we in the TRENCHES are
putting our LIVES on the line,
while queer CHILDREN are DYING
because no one will SHOW them any other way?

WHY should we continue to FILL their POCKETS
and PAY their DEBTS
while AIDS organizations FALL
apart for lack of funding?

WE are not SILENT.
We are not BLIND.
We are ENRAGED.
We are PISSED.
We are SICK and TIRED of being
STEPPED ON, BEAT ON, and KILLED
while others silently grow fat off our LABOURS,
and while we are BETRAYED and DISOWNED
by those who once USED US for their own GAIN.

WE have CONFRONTED the CLOSET,
and have seen its EVIL.
We are the STRONG who not only broke FREE,
but are SMASHING DOWN the walls
created of LIES and REPRESSION.

WE are the ones who have OPENED our EYES
and seen the IGNORANCE and FEAR
in our own "community."
And we REFUSE to CLOSE our eyes
to this HYPOCRISY.

WE REFUSE to INDULGE
ourselves in the
FASHION and GLAMOUR
in the media that
PERPETUATE the great PHALLACY
that privacy is the most important thing,
while our young SELL themselves on the streets
to the RICH closeted
because their HOMES have
BETRAYED and REJECTED them.

THIS is NOT RHETORIC.

AS long as we feel PAIN,
and our CHILDREN are CONSUMED by pain,
we will INFLICT that SAME pain
on those who PROTECT it.

THIS is not a FASHION statement.
Fashion is another means to CONTROL the MASSES
and keep them BLIND to the TRUTH.

THIS is our LIVES,
lives we have FORGED through everything
the WORLD has PITTED AGAINST us.

WE are PROUD
of who we are and what we have
ACCOMPLISHED.

WE ARE QUEER.

WE have been THROWN into the FIRE,
and WE WILL USE THAT FIRE
TO SET THE WORLD AFLAME.