Remember

Do not forget who I am today,
For tomorrow I will be but a memory.
No longer can we share a story,
Or a touch of hand, for I have gone away.

Do not forget to think of me
Of the dreams we shared of forever,
And of the times we spent together.
I will live on in your memory.

Do not forget to remember me
In times of happiness or sad.
But if you do, do not feel bad,
For I am only in your memory.

In life I wish for you all the joy,
Peace and love that you can be.

Day of Silence is a youth movement protesting the silence caused by harassment, prejudice, and discrimination faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies. 

 By keeping silent for the day, you are fighting these injustices.

 What are YOU doing to end the silence?

 Come to the Teen Room at the Central Library to sign our banner with messages of hope, love, and encouragement. Show your support by wearing a DOS sticker as well. The two teen librarians, Mary and Anna will be participating in the day by staying silent on and off all day. While one is silent, the other will be available to answer questions and help patrons find the books and information they need. Then they will switch. Consider joining them in their effort to stand with the silent.

The following poem was written today for our Catharsis Through Poetry workshop while thinking about Day of Silence. It was written by an LGBTQ ally who wishes to remain anonymous.

“Love Who You Love”

Injustice.

It happens everyday.

Must I wear this

Rainbow shirt

To show I care?

Can’t we all

Just get along?

You can’t tell me

Who I am

Who to love.

Am I man?

Am I woman?

Or something

In-between?

Do I love her?

Him?

Hän?

Does it matter?

No.

Love who you love.

Be who you are.

*Hän is a gender neutral pronoun in Finnish.

The poem below was written by Anonymous at the Central Branch yesterday using Magnetic Poetry:

“FINDING YESTERDAY”

ONLY THIS LOVE

HEALS YOU AND I

IN OUR SLEEP

WE SHARE OUR PLEASURE

FLYING INTO A NIGHT SKY

THROUGH A TRANSITION

WE COME BACK

YOU AND I LINGER

THEN LET YOU AND I

HAVE ANOTHER

loosens a little, and I gasp

brightness; but it tightens

again. When have I ever not loved

the pain of love? But this has moved

past love to mania. This has the strong

clench of the madman, this is

gripping the ledge of unreason, before

plunging howling into the abyss.

Hold hard then, heart. This way at least you live.

Wow. This poem by Derek Walcott is a new favorite because of how intensely it captures these feelings of infatuation that can catch you at any moment. The movie Love, Actually has a scene like this. The little boy has admitted to his stepfather that he’s been quiet and withdrawn because he’s in love. Relieved, his step-dad ruffles his hair, saying he thought it was something worse. The boy, puzzled, responds with “worse than the total agony of being in love?” And sometimes yeah, total agony is the best way to describe it. But sometimes its comforting to know that you’re not alone in feeling that way.

More than ten years after his death, the life and work of Tupac Shakur still resonate with his fans. Primarily remembered as a rapper, he was also a poet. The poem that provided for the title of his published poetry collection follows below.

The Rose That Grew From Concrete

Did u hear about the rose that grew from a crack

in the concrete

Proving nature’s law is wrong it learned 2 walk

without having feet.

Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams

it learned 2 breathe fresh air

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else ever cared!

I love the image of a rose pushing its way through the solid mass of a sidewalk, finding any slight chance to reach the surface. One of the things Tupac might have been trying to say with this poem was that even though the odds may seem stacked against you, its possible to succeed in what you want. What do you think? If you liked this poem, check out more by the poet here.