I was born into a poetry-loving family. My parents took turns reading aloud every evening, poems by the Brownings, Dickinson, Emerson, Frost, Longfellow, of course, and Poe (“Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore'”), Shakespeare and Tennyson, Whitman and Wordsworth.

My sister and I would lie tangled in blankets in our drafty house, vying to see the small oval portraits in One Hundred and One Famous Poems, a narrow book dressed in dark navy with gilt lettering. Often, when it was her turn, Mom would choke up from beauty, and we’d have to finish the poem for her. But when it was Dad’s night, he always ended by closing the book and singing “Ragtime Cowboy Joe.”

Perhaps this has something to do with why, sixty years later, I was invited to read my Pride poem from the pulpit at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world, to kick off the “Four Choirs and a Cathedral” concert. It really was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill to climb up into that awesome pulpit (about the size of a NYC apartment) and then hear the Stonewall Chorale, NYC Gay Men’s Chorus, Empire City Men’s Chorus, and Lavender Light (lesbian & gay gospel choir). What a night it was!

This poem holds hints to the history of LGBTQ liberation — from oppression to celebration. See the Key below for details of name, date, and place.

No Place Like Home
by Pam McAllister

With music in our hearts,
dancing in our hips, harmonies
rising from parched throats and lips,
we call out from the shadows
one voice at a time
singing of “somewhere”
and “rainbows” and “home.”

Don’t ask us to forget
pink triangles, that lonely fence
in Laramie, a quilt stitched in tears.
Don’t tell us to wait.
We’ve rallied an infallible army,
one lover at a time.

Once “friends of Dorothy,”
we kept our Advocates under wraps.
Called to act up, we came out,
Lambda banners unfurled, “Get used to it!”
climbed the Ladder from wells of loneliness
one rung at a time.

We’ve archived our herstory,
our Sapphic verses, each Wilde kiss.
Since Stonewall, we’ve marched
down avenue and aisle,
a lavender nation, emerging,
one rainbow flag at a time.

With music in our hearts,
dancing in our hips, harmonies
rising from parched throats and lips,
we step with pride from shadows,
one singer at a time,
knowing that truly
there’s no place like home.

KEY

“Somewhere over the rainbow” — described in the song as a trouble-free place

symbols of suffering and survival

Don’t Ask/ Don’t Tell — U.S. policy on gays in the military, 1994-2011
pink triangles — symbol of gay oppression under Nazi’ rule
a fence in Laramie — where Matthew Shepard died alone
NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt — conceived by Cleve Jones in 1985. Now, weighing over 54 tons, it’s the largest piece of community folk art in the world
“An army of lovers cannot fail,” slogan coined by lesbian author Rita Mae Brown, rewording Plato

journey from secrets to celebrations:

“friend of Dorothy” — secret code meaning gay/lesbian
The Advocate — since 1967, the oldest LGBT publication in the U.S., no longer sent in plain brown wrappers
ACT UP — AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, founded in 1987
coming out — disclosing one’s sexual orientation
Lambda — Greek letter symbolizing LGBT rights since the ‘70s
“We’re here! We’re Queer! Get used to it!” — Chant used by Queer Nation, formed in 1990
The Ladder — founded in 1956 by Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, first nationally distributed lesbian publication in the U.S. Well of Loneliness — 1928 lesbian novel by Radclyffe Hall

symbols of “Gay Pride”:

archive our herstory — Lesbian Herstory Archives, founded in NYC in 1974
Sappho — lyric poet from Isle of Lesbos, 7th century BCE
Oscar Wilde — 19th c. Irish wit, writer, and poet. The Oscar Wilde Bookshop (1967-2009) in Greenwich Village, was the first bookstore devoted to gay and lesbian authors.
Stonewall — Uprising sparked during a routine police raid at the Stonewall Inn on 6/28/69
marched down avenue and aisle — from Gay Pride marches down NYC’s Fifth Avenue to same sex legal marriage and weddings in churches
lavender — the color of androgyny, combining pink and blue
rainbow flags — designed by Gilbert Baker for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day parade in 1978
Pride — catchall word for the Gay Liberation movement
“There’s no place like home” — What Dorothy Gale says at the end of The Wizard of Oz.