Poetry: Brothers of Tenderness

by Don Stouder

Photo by Brian Kyed

I too have known sadness and shame I too have know what it is to feel bullied, different, and suddenly not at all gay.

I call to the faeries gone before me your wisdom is great, you are embodied welcome. It has saved my life to know this. Your laughter and hope fill my memories with joy. Oh, brothers of tenderness!

After Mary Oliver