TREAD LIGHTLY, TREAD SOFTLY

TREAD LIGHTLY, TREAD SOFTLY

Tread lightly, tread softly, 
Where my heart is concerned,
It's been trampled on, pulled apart,
Spat upon, burned,
By fair-weather friends who flitter through,
Then change their minds and flee.
They do not like my politics,
My sexuality.

Like cunning magpies, 
They forge their way in,
Then take to the sky in droves.
They love the sinner, hate the sin,
How dare they stoop to condescend,
It's Anita Bryant all over again,
Queen of the orange groves.

Tread lightly, tread softly,
I'm a man with nothing to lose,
And so I dare to speak for those
Who can't afford to choose.
I owe my own allegiance
To nothing but my truth,
I take my fight into the streets,
And into the voting booth.

So what if I worry about my dear gay brethren,
Who carry the weight of the rainbow flag,
And all it has come to mean.
So what if I have a queer agenda
Hidden up my sleeve?
I'll go to my grave willingly
For the things that I believe.

Tread lightly, tread softly,
For my heart is more glass than stone,
And can shatter in a million pieces,
When a cold, cruel word is thrown.
For all my swagger and my bluster,
I'm really fighting gallantly,
While all my imperfections
Cluster all around me.

Tread lightly, tread softly,
My heart's a tad bit bitter,
The low achieving runt of the litter.
How do i harm you by speaking my peace,
And really how dare you say I can't marry?
Just another boulder for this weak heart to carry.

Tread lightly, tread softly,
And do your best to understand,
Walk a mile in my well worn shoes
Before you judge this man.
We choose who we love like the color of our eyes,
It is somewhere in the DNA, it is written in the skies,
So much ado about an inborn trait, and such a torturous ride,
The bullying, the terror, the all too frequent suicide.

These words are the naked truth,
Read them well, my dear gay youth.
For they will try to destroy your faith,
With their Scripture sanctioned hate.
But it is they not you who will be judged,
Your only crime is to dare to love,
And love is never wrong when it is given faithfully,
To one who loves you in return,
The way my man loves me.

Come and let us build a world without such fear and enmity,
Where gay and straight step up to the plate,
And fight for the right to be free.
To hold and cherish, love and honor, and marry who they please.
In the meantime mind your thoughts and tongues,
Careful what you say.
Tread lightly, tread softly, there are hearts strewn in your way.

-Bruce Potts
Revised Copyright 2015
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED