Diversity at a Minimum

Diversity at a Minimum

Creative Piece by Kevi Martin

In a conservative town,

I’m locked out of any open mind.

I look for a sign of defiance.

A signal, some flashing light.

I sit.

Sinking in my own productiveless fight

Against the views and expectations of what I’m expected to be.

I sit.

My eyes wander for some sign.

Some glimpse of hope.

Out of the gray of boring life,

I see a man wearing an arch of colors.

He smiles and nods.

Is this a sign?

Can I speak to him?

Do I need permission to talk?

I sit.

Wishing he would come towards me.

And he does.

Hoping he doesn’t think I’m nosey

As I blabber on and on,

Till I finally bring up the arch pinned in a discrete place.

He talks about his struggles to survive in a conservative world.

Where souls like ours had no room to be bold.

Where one word spoken about a same sex crush

Would induce shock therapy and pills to cure the “disease.”

As his cheerful eyes shed a tear,

I knew I could never be found in this conservative town.

I knew, with every day I spent here, my true self would disappear.

I knew my own happiness should not be feared.

As he left that day,

I realized this is where I should start.

Be Bold. Be True. Be You.