He stood for human rights
a rogue, raging machine resistor
of sexism and heterosexism,
he had them in his sights,
he had them, “dead to rights”
He stood for outing from
disheveled, distant closets
for being who he was,
and who gays were,
he spoke his truth to power
in the climax of the hour
Marking in Frisco's streets,
bullhorn blasting the Castro,
activist at the helm,
straightening his spine, opposing
sexism and homophobia,
specter of assassination rose,
his only phobia
His antagonist was Council member
Dan White, and who now knows
if his motive was homophobic fright
or his ethnocentric drive to be right
or a latent gayness he held in spite\
of the universal declaration of a
human right
Rights for all humans, played
Harvey on rainbow strings of pearl/
if we don't stand for all, we stand
for none, and the rights' crucifiers
may one day come knocking
down our doors
© Christopher Bear Beam, MA March, 2009
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