I am not Orlando

I am not Orlando

I am not Orlando.

Until last year

Parentless children disallowed a home

Because two fathers or two mothers

Isn’t what some book says is right.

Who wrote it?

Some old man in the sky?

No- a human, petty, weak, fated to die.

I am not Orlando.

 

That tragic night,

Who pulled the trigger?

It was Orlando.

Orlando is what killed those people.

Kids of orientation are always taken

Until they’re deemed to reawaken,

Clean of their sin.

Is it a greater sin to love or kill?

When they eventually leave,

Out without a choice,

Their jobs can be stolen,

Snatched away like a penny sweet in the hands of a child.

But this behaviour, pathetic and wild,

Taken by people with eyes blind, heads swollen.

I am not Orlando.

 

We look upon the silent dead

We say so little, the lament unsaid.

A blood red rainbow tears through clouds,

Colours stained crimson as the screaming sounds.

Angels dressed in rainbow garb

Are carried home by their wings dyed black with shame,

Spattered scarlet along with each name.

Those brave forty-nine

Their shadows now out and gone

Names crossed out on Saint Peter’s dotted line.

Removed from the living world.

I am not Orlando.

 

The night fades and the city’s clock keeps ticking.

Hate crimes mean nothing.

They are meaningless in the law.

But what they can do,

Discrimination against a beautiful civilisation

Disgracing that once proud nation

The words sing around the globe:

“I am Orlando”.

Uneducated fools.

Lifestyles against the law until 1971

And in 2003 still not struck off,

Father’s, brothers, cousins, sons.

Rejected because of some ancient law

I am not Orlando.

 

Legality and ethics clash

An action committed in a flash.

Dirty, godforsaken and rash.

A society in name, not city,

Not in town or in country.

A community shaken by events

Unimaginable rage, it vents.

Orlando was not the aim.

Life goes on, ever the same.

Orlando is the killer.

I am not a killer.

I am not Orlando.

 

 

 

Author's Note

Ok. I am not an American. I have never been to Orlando. This is my personal reaction as a member of the LGBT community.

Reviews

[barleygirl]

I find everything about your message very interesting. First, I love the way the title & refrain seems to mock all those around the world who say "We are Orlando" (being politically correct) but who really don't grasp the tragedy or the significance or the prejudice faced, on a deep-down level. (It's good that you touched on this in your message, otherwise I wouldn't have grasped the meaning of your title). I especially like stanza 3 with the play on colors & rainbows. I also like the reference to some old man in the sky who supposedly wrote this book that condemns gay lifestyles.

The LGBT community in Orlando & elsewhere -- these people are giving us a genuine example of acceptance & support & love, despite tragedy . . . even tho I'm straight, I always wonder how those with anti-gay sentiments can fail to recognize what a divine example is set by the LGBT loving approach to their brethren & all others, despite being slammed by so many.

I love Bonnie Tyler's newest song "Pulse" . . . we all have a pulse . . . I wish I'd written that line. It's brilliant in the face of this tragedy.

[Kat Mandu]

Thanks, I really appreciate the comments. I felt that the fact that there is still alot of prejudice in Orlando should really be addressed. Everyone is saying how terrible it all is, but no one is saying how terrible the stigma towards the LGBT community is. There is always a call for unity, but people don't always answer the call.

[barleygirl]

I think now, a week and a half later, most people have resumed their bias *sigh*

[Coyote Poetry]

Something I won't understand. Killing innocence people. Why?
"Orlando is what killed those people.
Kids of orientation are always taken
Until they’re deemed to reawaken,
Clean of their sin.
Is it a greater sin to love or kill?"
No sin to love. Love is the last utopia we can know in this modern world. To kill is the dead-end. A powerful poem. You left the reader with a lot to ponder.
Coyote

[Kat Mandu]

Thanks. Alot of work and passion went into this piece.

[Coyote Poetry]

You did well. A powerful poem.

[Kat Mandu]

I wanted to put forward the approach that, despite the killings having shaken Orlando, the city has many homophobic aspects to it, and that the hashtag #IamOrlando is a hollow statement- in my opinion.

[AliciaB]

There is so much pain in this poem. It is vivid and gut-wrenching - the part about the angels was particularly powerful to me - and it made my heart hurt to read it. So many agonizing and confusing emotions are brought forth by this sort of thing, and the fact that this tragedy involved so many members of the LGBT community heightens this effect. There have been a lot of horrible arguments back and forth about this event. But gender, sexual orientation, race, age, occupation, whatever - those things don't matter. What matters is that these were human beings who were senselessly murdered. No one should die like this. You talk about "some book" and "some old man in the sky." I don't know if you wanted me to touch on this in my review (I'm a Catholic Christian, as mentioned in my profile), but I want to tell you that my faith is not about hating people who are gay. We are, and I am, called to love every human being as a brother or sister, regardless of their actions or traits. That does not mean that we condone certain actions. But our faith is about love and mercy, not hatred and condemnation. If you're interested, I'd encourage you to check out my poem "Right Now, I Don't Care" and some of the review replies I have posted there. They do a better job of explaining what I mean. For whatever you believe it's worth, I am praying for you and for every person affected by this event. Your work is a fitting tribute to the pain caused by this experience.

[Kat Mandu]

Thanks for the review. I know that religions aren't about hate (or at least aren't meant to) it's just that their are alot of haters out there who hide behind their religion and use it to justify their actions. I'll check out that poem, thanks again :)

[AliciaB]

You're welcome. And you are totally right - thank you for understanding that.