Dear black gay boy
You are…
dramatic
too over the top too colorful too
involved
Dear black gay boy
you are life
he opens up his
lips and speaks to
the air
it listens
Will you love him
simply because he is black
because he is gay
because he is black and gay
because he is more of a
minority than you
his range in numbers
on the surface
is few
but in reality, it’s thousands
still in hiding
dear black gay boy
you are variety
curiosity at its best
an army of many
don’t you see we rain hellfire
on those who oppose us
Dear black gay boy
you are magic
you create
every creative thing
they have seen
they can’t take you away
for they would Die
Dear black gay boy
you are life
My black GayNess
will destroy you
don’t you see I birth nations
with the womb of my mind
Dear black gay boy you are
life and creation
you sow the seed
for this tree, they feed from
yet they still walk
and stomp on you
I tell them
don’t hate the farmer
don’t bite the hand
that feeds you
births you
tells you, you’re pretty
because you are
don’t make us starve you of your confidence cause
we will
Dear black gay boy
they need you
they can’t hurt you
they’ll need you when they’re drained of boredom and need a shock of entertainment
they’ll need you
when the waters
of their self-confidence
drowns them
they’ll need you
when you have the key
to the questions​
they can’t answer
Dear black gay boy They need you!
I Don’t Do Boxes (IDDB) is an independent magazine produced by and for LGBTQ+ Southern youth during Elsewhere’s program QueerLab. Since 2013, QueerLab has provided a safer space to develop dialogue around LGBTQ+ experiences through youth-led multimedia projects and an annual ‘zine.
IDDB Issue No. 5: “OutLaws” celebrates cultural and political deviance, as well as our LGBTQ+ siblings who have been criminalized or erased all together.
For more information:
idontdoboxes.org.
goelsewhere.org/queerlab.
