This weekend I was lucky enough to
attend a local Pride festival. It was a smallish one, but still very lively. Of
course, even a small Pride Festival attracts a certain type of pest.
 |
| No, he’s not the pest. He’s awesome |
You know the type. The knowledge that
someone, somewhere is living a perfectly happy life (that has nothing to do with
their lives) drives them insane. So they are compelled to grab a microphone and
start babbling about Certain Doom. Somehow they always work in the word “love”
but their idea of it sounds about as appealing as Goblin Tea.
“Goblin tea resembles a nice cup of
Earl Grey in much the same way that a catfish resembles the common tabby. They
share a name, but one is a nice thing to curl up with on a rainy afternoon, and
the other is found in the muck at the bottom of polluted rivers and has bits of
debris sticking to it.”
― T. Kingfisher
Seriously, their version of love
seemed pretty toxic and emotionally abusive to me. It also sounded quite
annoying as they were rather loud at times. The friendly Bee Guy had things
well in hand, leading the crowd in cheers, keeping things light and funny,
and occasionally doing a little preaching on his own about a far healthier
sounding idea of love. However in the middle of the hullabaloo, one of the
pests managed to press a tract into my hand. When I realized what
it was, I was disgusted. Then I asked myself, what would the Bee Guy do? The
result is my latest bit of found poetry.
Love who you are.
No ancient abomination
can obligate sin into hearts
rejoicing in identity.
Discern and learn…
ALL consensual love is allowed.
So they really did manage to save me…save me some trouble in finding words for this week’s poem and Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads' Tuesday Platform.
Did you do anything fun last week
Groovers? Talk to me about it in the comments. As always, if you want to
continue the convo on your blog, drop your link in there too.
Song
Choice: I wanted to pick a less well known LGBTQ+ anthem. Closer by Tegan and Sarah really captures the upbeat feel of the day, plus
it’s a super cute video featuring all sorts of couples being adorable. Dare you
not to dance.
Oddly enough (or perhaps understandably enough) I'd rather spend my Time of Certain Doom in the company of people like Bee Guy than the boring and toxic Prophets of Certain Doom.
ReplyDeleteBee Guy was a pretty cool dude. I think he was a lot closer to the spirit of the one those toxic prophets claim to follow than they were.
DeleteTurning sour lemonades into sparkling lemonade!! Awesome, Rommy.
ReplyDeleteNever has a found word project appealed to my inner impishness more. :D
DeleteBrava, Rommy, brava! Well done! Bee Guy would be happy, I think!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sharon!
DeleteI love the message in your poem.........I DID have an adventure last week and posted the photos in my link. I am now dizzy and exhausted from too much having fun. LOL.
ReplyDeletePut your feet up and enjoy a little rest. You trip sounds pretty cool
DeleteI like the sound of Goblin Tea!!!!
DeleteIt is good for when there is mischief that needs to be done!
DeleteThis is beautiful!!❤️ I love the message in your poem, Rommy! I had a bad episode of food poisoning yesterday .. (I must remember to stay away from junk food) so ended up resting and taking medicine.. but I am better now and enjoying myself as the rainy season has finally arrived!❤️
ReplyDeleteEek! Food poisoning is the pits. So glad you are better now. :)
DeleteTHAT IS EXACTLY THE RIGHT RESPONSE! Subversive mockery of hateful people and propaganda is the life-blood and secret weapon of the LGBTQ+ community!
ReplyDeleteYaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaas! *feels pleased with herself*
DeleteThis is an interesting account. I’ve never attended a Pride festival but I imagine all sorts of pests find their way there. But I LOVE your response poem, “...ALL consensual love is allowed.”
ReplyDeleteYeah it takes a special sort of pest to harangue young children and parents. They set themselves up right in front of the Drag Queen Story Telling Tent. I found out later that they tried using speakers before they went to megaphones, but their bluetooth was wonky and kept picking up the signal for one of the organizers of the pride parade. At one point *they* were pumping out Lady Gaga's Born This Way.🤣 🤣 🤣
DeleteI'm glad you were able to visit the parade. Thanks for your sharing your inspiration from visiting. I like parades, July 4th are my favorites but I really enjoyed visiting the Greenwich Village (NYC) Halloween Night Parade just as much. It is LGBTQ also and has no motor vehicle floats. October 31 eve start if you are ever there, walking distance from Times Square.
ReplyDelete..
That Halloween parade sounds like a blast! LOL, the only Halloween parade I've been to before was the one in Disneyworld. I'll probably take in a small town 4th of July parade too.
DeleteI haven't seen too much of either, but those preachers of doom are actually quite a nuisance... good that you could turn them into something better.
ReplyDeleteTo say I took a sort of Gremlin-like delight in taking scissors to paper and tearing up the remains into bits is an understatement.
DeleteI plan to do this every time I am unlucky enough to cross their path. It's petty revenge compared to the real harm they and their backwards views can do, but it's one less person they can afflict with their pamphlets and it keeps me busy in perfectly legal ways.
I love your transformation of their nasty, unloving message. (Honestly, Jesus would be turning over in his grave at the perversion of his message – if he hadn't already risen from it!)
ReplyDeletePretty much. I have no problem with Big J, but boy some of the people who claim to follow him are ginormous pests. I wish they'd find a better hobby, like reading the actual words of the holy book they claim to follow.
DeleteThis, my fantastic friend, is pure word magic! I love the poem--the invitation to learn, in particular--and I love even more how it came to be. Oh, the things we'd be able to do if we all chose to take the bad, reshape it, and turn it into awesome!
ReplyDeleteMy bit for this week (late as always *cough*):
Deletehttps://magalyguerrerosblog.blogspot.com/2019/06/silenced-turned-dreadnought-and-screamed.html
It's one of the best sort of recycling IMHO.
DeleteLove this post Rommy! I love your art piece and your response! Big Hugs!
ReplyDeleteThank you Stacey! :)
DeleteI feel a little happier now, after reading your clever response to ignorance. Wish I could attend a Pride parade. None here where I live but I feel straight people need to support ALL consensual love.
ReplyDeleteI so want to make this a thing now. Whenever I go to these events to take a flyer from one of these awful folks and re-work the words to be something beautiful.
DeleteLove, love, love the poem! That smile in the image makes me happy and the words are perfect. This is one to memorize. :)
ReplyDeleteWoot! That's a really big compliment. I am so happy it made you happy. :)
DeleteIndeed one should love oneself for who one is. Another person's love does not hurt these blabbermouths, so they should just stay away and let others live their lives.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. I mean, it was a perfectly gorgeous day and they chose to waste it glaring at people.
DeleteGreat Post! Loved the 'goblin tea' analogy and the direction you took a spate of negativity in.
ReplyDeleteRe: what I got up to last week (that might qualify as fun) I, probably have the most unique 'take' on that. Most of my week was spent trying to move my 400 plus poems, from total chaos into something?!?! I wouldn't exactly call it fun, but it was very introspective and emotive - staring down reflections from years and years ago - it was kind of an 'upper' (for lack of a better word). It gave me pause, and made me think (yet again) about how I want to BE in this world … and whether I'm getting close to that mark.
400+ poems is a lot to wrangle! I remember starting out with the idea I'd organize my poems as I went along and yeah that got away from me pretty fast.
DeleteIt's always cool to look back and see how we grow in the technical aspects of our craft, but I can see how sorting through them is like revisiting emotional snapshots of the past. Introspection is exciting when we come out of it with a clearer idea of who we are and where we want to go.
"....for the times they are a changin' "
ReplyDeleteWonderful work...
They most certainly are! :D
DeleteI love the discern to learn part. Love is required!
ReplyDeleteThey did provide me with some really terrific words in that awful pamphlet. :D
DeleteI wish that Bee Guy was around Hamilton (On) Pride celebrations (June 16) and Toronto Pride celebrations (June 21-23), as the boors were out, in full force spreading their hate and contempt to love and compassion. Reality, is the LGBTQ+ community celebrations are a community celebration of love and compassion, something the boors will never understand.
ReplyDeleteThere was a lot of love and good feelings to go around. But it was so much better once the pests cleared off.
Delete