Drown Me
The watery grave of that beautiful boy still shimmers.
I forgive you, Narcissus.
The strands of your DNA turned into bars,
They imprisoned you.
I couldn’t offer you freedom,
Because even in those spaces that exist between the bars,
You only saw yourself.
Now I’ve returned to the scene of the crime.
The location is the same,
But the situation is different.
I want the water to quench me,
To cool me,
To cleanse me,
To restore me,
And if it can’t do that,
I want it to drown me.
Eternal Pride
I fight with every
nail and tooth,
go ahead
and call me “poof”!
I really do not
give a damn!
I’ve accepted
who I am!
Self-love flows
through all my veins,
I reject your nasty names.
My victory
is in the bag,
go ahead
and call me “fag”!
Your anger
will instil no fear,
go ahead
and call me “queer”!
My true colours
you can’t hide!
I have got eternal pride.
Reza Ghahremanzadeh is a Queen's University graduate living in Northern Ireland.
The watery grave of that beautiful boy still shimmers.
I forgive you, Narcissus.
The strands of your DNA turned into bars,
They imprisoned you.
I couldn’t offer you freedom,
Because even in those spaces that exist between the bars,
You only saw yourself.
Now I’ve returned to the scene of the crime.
The location is the same,
But the situation is different.
I want the water to quench me,
To cool me,
To cleanse me,
To restore me,
And if it can’t do that,
I want it to drown me.
Eternal Pride
I fight with every
nail and tooth,
go ahead
and call me “poof”!
I really do not
give a damn!
I’ve accepted
who I am!
Self-love flows
through all my veins,
I reject your nasty names.
My victory
is in the bag,
go ahead
and call me “fag”!
Your anger
will instil no fear,
go ahead
and call me “queer”!
My true colours
you can’t hide!
I have got eternal pride.
Reza Ghahremanzadeh is a Queen's University graduate living in Northern Ireland.