Extra Credit

What would you say if someone said you're gay?
What prompted them to ask in the first place?
Would you say they're wrong and just walk away?
Say yes or no, and is it a disgrace?
Does it say something about who you are?
Noone would think that it's worth fighting for
What preference can be worth being marred?
Imagine being called a fag, a whore
At the bottom of the social ladder,
The homosexuals are made fun of
It's all good, but does it really matter?
It's a free country, can't one go for love?
We're only human, we make hearts splatter
Again I ask, Does it really matter?

Hi, I'm not gay. I forgot why, but somehow I came across your site. I'm kinda glad I did, cause until then I was homophobic like any normal kid, but then after reading I think it was called 'golden boy' by joseph thoreau, it widened my horizons. I realized gays were people too, and can feel love. And stuff... Anyways, your site has made me truly unprejudiced. I'm in AP/Honor classes (basically college classes in high school) and on the football team. I hang out with pretty dumb people, but we're still friends. Whenever I say something insightful or talk of an idea that they can't understand (which is often) they say something like 'stop being gay'. They don't mean it, and we're all joking around, but that got me thinking. I had to write a poem for english honors, so I felt like I owed it to this site to put it up. It's not that good, but I thought you might wanna hear it. It's a sonnet.

This poem is copyright 2002 Charles John, to whom comments may be sent.