Pride
By NL
Every June you see the celebration
The outfits and confetti
A myriad of colors that fill every major city
A coronation for all the kings, queens, and everyone in-between
Who dared to walk their own path to freedom
And ours
Our journeys are different, but sadly tend to look the same
You see the dancing in the streets but not the pain he felt when dad said, “You’re not my son”
You see the signs with LOVE displayed but not the signs of depression from years of isolation by the cool kids
You see the flags but not the crying as grandma had the minister exorcise her
‘Cause she wanted to exercise her right to love
You hear the music but not the tears that ran as we plotted our escape
From families, religions, and expectations
From painful experiences that told us and showed us
We are not enough
Somehow, some way we found the grace that was not given to us
And grace the world with our presence
Choosing to embody the essence of love
And use it to pave the way for a brighter future
A future many have tried to deny us
But we stood up and fought
From Stonewall to Pulse
We bared a cross that was not always ours to carry
Pride is a painful past, a hopeful present, and a bright future
Pride is pain and struggle
Pride is love and redemption
Pride is hands held with former enemies turned family
Even if it means we get no apology
It is the continued fight to see and be seen
To live as the unapologetic heirs to the throne HE said we are
Pride is everything
Nothing and nobody can take it from us
Because it lives within us and seeps into everything we do
Pride, we didn’t always have it but we have it now
And we live loud and proud because we deserve to
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The poets featured here are currently incarcerated, and many of them are in federal prisons far from home. Your feedback is a valuable source of motivation and connection to the outside community. Post your comments, feedback, and encouragement in the space below the poem. Messages will be passed on directly to the author. Comments may not appear immediately on the site, as our team processes them to mail to the poets.
This poem is amazing, I felt the emotion as read thru this. You should be proud of this. I want to continue to see you do amazing work.
This poem beautifully captures the celebration of pride while also acknowledging the pain behind it. It emphasizes the journey of overcoming struggles and finding strength in love, making it a heartfelt tribute to resilience and identity.
Beautifully written poem about how life takes different paths to reach the same destination!
This motivational poetry elegantly honors self-actualization and the pride that comes from perseverance. Readers are inspired to celebrate their own accomplishments and consider their paths by its upbeat tone and striking images.
Your writing is very compelling. You chose to write about something that not everyone thinks about, highlighting emotions that are not talked about enough. It is clear that you were really empathetic toward other peoples feelings and really tried to understand their experiences. I like how you ended off the poem by defining pride. It was very powerful to read.
Overall, this is a beautifully written piece that effectively balances celebration and reflection, making it a powerful expression of pride and resilience
Your poem powerfully captures the essence of Pride and the struggles behind the celebration. It highlights the contrast between the visible joy and the hidden pain many endure. You beautifully convey the journey from pain to grace, showing how strength and love pave the way for a brighter future. The resilience and courage in your words are inspiring, and they remind us that Pride is not just a celebration but a testament to overcoming adversity. Thank you for sharing such a heartfelt and moving piece!
Your poem is truly moving and beautifully written. You capture the essence of Pride with such depth, highlighting both the struggles and the triumphs. The way you contrast the visible celebrations with the hidden pains adds a profound layer to your message. It’s a powerful reminder of resilience and the journey towards self-acceptance and love. Great job!
This is powerful and deeply moving—an unflinching acknowledgment of pain transformed into strength and celebration. It beautifully captures the resilience, love, and hope that define Pride, showing that the journey to self-acceptance is both personal and collective. Truly inspiring.
Your poem shows how Pride isn’t just a celebration, but also a reminder of the struggles and pain people have gone through to be themselves. You highlight the challenges—being rejected by family, feeling alone, and facing judgment—but also how, despite all that, people found the strength to keep going. Pride is about more than just dancing in the streets; it’s about fighting for the right to love and be loved, even when the world tried to take that away. It’s about embracing who you are, standing tall, and living proudly. You show how far we’ve come and how much there is to fight for still, but also the strength we have now because we’ve fought for our space in the world. Thank you for sharing this—it’s a powerful reminder of how much Pride really means.
Your poem is powerful. I liked how you showed that Pride is more than a celebration it’s about pain, love, and strength. The line, “We found the grace that was not given to us,” really stood out.
It’s a reminder of how far we’ve come and the fight to be seen and loved. Thank you for sharing such a strong and honest piece.
First of all, I love that you wrote a poem about pride. As a queer person, it is always important to me to hold histories with me. The line “Pride is a painful past, a hopeful present, and a bright future” really resonated with me. It is like you are manifesting the bright future through the hope of today. Literally minutes before reading this I was talking to a friend about how much her family member struggled to be gay in a Catholic family. Religion can be a real force for shame or affirmation. I also really liked the line about pride being holding hands with your enemy “Even if it means we get no apology.” This resonated as it is so often the case. This was a beautiful poem. I hope to read more.
This poem is so beautiful and I enjoyed reading it! I liked how you showed that although we celebrate in June, some have a painful past that isn’t shown. I also liked the examples you used to convey this. Also I liked how you defined pride throughout your poem, Pride. I liked how you said “and we live loud and proud because we deserve to”, because it’s a very powerful message displaying that even those who are shunned because of who they love, still deserve to live how they desire. Overall, this is a great poem and I enjoyed reading it!
This is an eye-opening representation of the light and dark side of coming out. I am an ally, myself, and have seen the fear surrounding telling families and friends that they love someone unexpected. I am unapologetically accepting, so, for me, it can be harder to understand why a family would treat someone so terribly just because their love looks a little different. However, the pride you speak of, where we create new families and show love freely to those that may have been shunned elsewhere, is beautiful in itself. It is important to revel in the community in these times. The community is strong and will protect you through all of the harder things. Years ago, this may not have been the case, but now, with use of the internet, the rallies, the coronations of kings, queens, and everyone in between, you will find your place in the world. Where love is the answer to all.