For Colored Boys: A Poem
From Magic City, a lyric cry of solidarity against shame and silence.
poem for colored boys | Kevin Tarver poem |LGBTQIA+ mental health poetry
Listen to this Poem: 1:20 min | read by the author
This is for colored boys who have considered suicide
When the rainbow was something taught to be ashamed of.
This is for the boys who have made makeshift halos out of belt loops, dress ties,
And jump ropes,
With hope to finally find light through self-inflicted darkness.
Those young souls who didn’t know what it meant to be gay,
But were still bullied anyway by their peers,
This is for you.
Your tears have been ignored by the very people who have taught you the difference
Between “right” and “wrong,”
Those same people who taught you to sing those proud freedom songs.
They tell you to pray the gay away,
And recite the 23rd Psalm.
This is for those boys who felt that they could perform surgery on themselves
To extract the homosexuality from their wrists,
Those who tried to pick their brains with bullets,
And to those who gave their lives to concrete.
Instead of falling for the person of their dreams,
They took a leap of faith into the unknown,
Because it was better to disappear
Than to be at home.
Kevin L. Tarver is a writer, educator, and orator from Birmingham, Alabama. Born and raised in the Magic City, his subject matter includes mental and emotional health awareness, healing with nature, and his experiences within the southern LGBTQIA+ community. He received his B.A. in English from Miles College and has since worked to facilitate and create brave spaces for creative and emotional expression through various events and workshops. Kevin’s work has been featured in theCounter Narrative Project, Teach For America, andPEN America.