He was 15. The boy who shot another
boy for being gay. He could’ve been tall
or short. Or fat. Either boy, really. But
the boy who was gay wore makeup
to school sometimes. That was freaking
the guys out, said a 13-year-old
in the news. With each shot,
whatever happens in the classroom
stays in the classroom. We are taught
to sit behind desks. Preferably in equal
rows. So that standing on the other side
is like looking through the barrel
of a shotgun. How it must feel to come out
at age 14. Like a clay pigeon waiting
to be thrown into sky. Without wings,
they say a gay student is 5 times more likely
to be bullied. It is something we will look at,
said an official. Like trying to fix a broken
speedometer cable. And the car is going
way too fast. When you live in Georgia
it’s easy to say whatever happens in California,
stays in California. It is the wild west, after all
to be young and gay. To say look at this
picture when I was 19. Asleep
on a train. Trees and graffiti rushing by —
Wake up, girl. Wake up.
Rusty Truck 