Well, well, well. I wound up back at my alma mater a little sooner than I expected. That, however, is what happens when one stands at the intersection of multiple minorities, so last weekend I went back for Pride.
Yes, I know, normally it’s observed in June. However, when a school year ends in May and the majority of the LGBT population consists of students, the celebration is moved up for a college town. I was, in a word, amazed. Rainbow flags were everywhere, on campus and all over town. The Pride parade through downtown was well attended and supported, as was a picnic in the park following it and other festivities. In spite of the slightly brisk temperatures, the atmosphere was filled with positivity and love.
As one of the very few, openly gay Black students when I first stepped on the campus back in the day, my presence lent seasoning and extra color to the occasion. In a way, I felt like visiting royalty and a link to history, since the Stonewall riots took place a mere year before I started college. Current students, of course, had lots of questions about my experiences back then and my business as an author now. Somewhere along the line, I became the role model I wished my 18-year-old self had had, and that has been a humbling experience.
Though I normally review works by amazing romance authors, today I’m here to share my thoughts on a poet from South Africa, M.S. Reggiori, and his collection of poetry, Into the Hush of the Quiet Winds. I love his gift of spoken word, and his poems, from haiku to free verse, resonate in the mind and heart. What seriously pulls at my heartstrings are his love poems. If you are a diehard romantic, this is the ticket! These are the kind of poems that have you looking at your significant other and thinking, “Why can’t you write something like this?” His love interest is female, yet the theme is universal. I, as a member of the LGBT community, have no problems doing some mental pronoun changes when necessary. By all means, this gifted poet is waiting for you to enter his world at your local Amazon/Barnes and Noble library.
In keeping with my theme of remembrance, readers, I will also share a little of my own poetry from “back in the day”:
1973
“The line dance is on!”
Shevar calls out
our favorite portion
of Soul Train
where we play
“Count the Children”
Bold
fierce
proud
in their Blackness
in their gayness
cool pastime
in the TV desert
of Saturday morning
====================
Picked me up
scattered me
like diamond stars
across the sky
of an awesome August night
1971
Moist lips
bore promise
of
always and forever
Thank you
Ray
for a heart
that kept
that promise
====================
1970
young
gifted
Black
gay
18-year-old
version of
me
college days
with my van
Invisible
nonexistent support systems
the darker you are
harder to come out
And yet I did
determined
to make
a difference
and command
respect
====================
1969
teenager living
the age of Aquarius
hot fun in the
summertime
Life impacted by
Selma
Memphis
Huey Newton
Viet Nam
Unaware of event
halfway across the country
altering my
life’s course
The voice of
Stonewall
====================
Wishing you an excellent day. Believe in dreams and never give up.
W.D. Foster-Graham, Author 