PROUD 

It’s hot 
It’s June 
It’s Pride
The party kind not 
the riot kind;
and I follow the footsteps of these beaten and bruised people and my heart swells!
Thank you for existing. 
for allowing me to exist today, 
like this, 
like something else tomorrow. 
With so much love in my heart 
it was bound to burst: 
a brick against a wall.
I am selfish thinking 
of all the hardship I’ve never had. 
All the joy I get to gather up and keep 
instead of mourn, 
because I am here now, 
and it’s Pride. 
The party kind not 
the riot kind. 



Ode to a(all) beautiful queer person(people)

Short blue hair dancing 
Above a longboard
Long legs push
Stickered stars quiver in the sun
On their cheekbones
They stop to assess
Storm damage on a powerline
Open mouth staring my eyes
Trace their jawline, down their throat
I’ve never seen something so pretty
So much better at existing than everyone else



At the Ends of Your Hands

Sometimes I sit and think 
about the microscopic space that lingers 
between my skin and yours 
when we kiss.

How our breath is more the world’s
than it ever is ours 
even as we exchange it between teeth.

Every person thinks a different shade 
when someone says ‘blue’ 
and I want to know 
what yours looks like 

Even if I may never understand, 
I want to hear the words that sit close 
in your mouth and roll off your tongue.

There is magic in every almost 
that falls around us: in that space 
between skin and things
that aren’t ours between teeth.

I take these thoughts and dance with them
with my hip, warm under your palm

About the author:

Schuyler Brooks is a part-time book slinger at Bookish: a shop for indie folk who read in Arkansas. They are a creator in several arts and a dedicated poet. They love to write in form, specifically the Sestina and Ghazal. They have been published in Applause, an undergraduate literary journal at the University of Arkansas – Fort Smith.

Photo by Delia Giandeini on Unsplash