Andie Charalambolous

Maybe Pride

isn’t all about the party

or the booze

the hookups

or how much skin we show.

But the freedom

and the celebration

that we are able to have all that.

That for a moment

we are surrounded by love

and a sense of community

that most feel every day.

Maybe Pride is really about

your first same sex kiss

on a Saturday night

in the middle of the sidewalk

while bars are busy

and cars are passing

and nobody says a word

and you go home unscratched

without even a punch of insult.

But some people were not as lucky

and so this is for them too.