For those unfamiliar with Capturing Fire (https://www.facebook.com/capturingfire): A Queer Spoken Word Summit and Slam, every spring, LGBTQIA poets from around the world descend upon Washington, D.C. to share their words with each other and an audience looking for the most talented of artists. This year, I had the opportunity to come across Thomas Hill, the current grand slam champion of the D.C. youth slam team. His piece called "Pray the Gay Away" is featured in this video from the D.C. youth slam that happened back in February. Take a moment to take in the brilliance of this poet's work and check out more of his stuff on the interwebs!
Find Thomas on instagram or twitter @blackgaypoet
Pray the Gay Away by Thomas Hill
Someone stole all of my sunshine.
Spirit and smile plucked straight from these hands.
Some man of heaven, holy.
Moved all my sunshine and my stardust
My dusk and my dawn gone.This world,
Is black sky of lonely lurking up above
I've been wandering these galaxies looking for my me
I've been so[u]lar searching
There's a selfish sinister of a something,
that stole my sunshine straight from these hands.
I am holy lamb of a boy.
Bones broken open,
to bleed out these rainbows.
Everybody knows
No color of the rainbow can render themselves righteous in the dark
So someone took all my sunshine.
and I am still not sure whether it be God or Ghoul
Whether it be "amen", or a man
too greedy for his own damn good.
Something putrid of a prey,
tried to pray my sky away.
Praise the blackness!
I can't see myself in the dark
Dusk and dawn gone
Praise the Holy Ghost!
Westboro baptist babies
babbling barbaric bigotry
I heard that only something biblical can bear such destruction.
Praise the communion!
Body and blood stripped bare
for some shadow of salvation
Praise the repent
and the sin
and the repent
and the sin
and the repent
and the sin
Save Me!
I'm six hail Mary's away from last Saturday night.
Praise the night!
And all the of the liberation it denies me.
Praise the repent!
The back bent and obedient body.
Praise this body!
It no longer belongs to me,
not as if it ever has
since the day my sunshine was stolen
I've been holy lamb of a boy.
Hallelujah he seems to be Cured!Cured of what?
This blood, is an itch.
Cancer in every capillary.
I've been scratching my skin raw,
trying to make myself pure.
Maybe then,
My father would hug me,
as tight as he does his bible.Without my sunshine,
Without my rainbow.
Coffins are looking more bed than box.
Nuces, don't seem to be such neuisance If wrapped around my neck.
Neck deep in holy water I'm drowning.
You said, you'd pray this plague away.
Pray this sunshine and sin.
This killer of a color away.
Dusk and dawn gone.
Come come child,
Let this biblical bleach out those pesky rainbows
Bow down to the Alter
Alter yourself straight
Don't need no sunshine for your salvation
Welcome to the dark side.