This Pride Month, Verseve is thrilled to showcase a diverse array of poems and poets celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. Explore this page for powerful words on identity, love, and acceptance, shared by incredible voices.
The initial relationship with "him" feels artificial, a "movie scene" forced by external pressures, hinting at the quiet struggle and "sins" confessed in the dark by someone unable to be their true self.
However, the poem powerfully shifts with "her." Here, the connection is raw, authentic, and deep, symbolizing a journey of self-discovery
The way she's described ("mapping freckles like constellations") shows a wide, open future full of joy and real possibility. It's a strong story about finding yourself and truly loving who you are.
-Gabrielle V
Whether years of hardening
Impeded on my ability to love
Depended on numerous factors
You brought out the softer side
Parts of me that welcomed
Affection, parts of me that
Actually felt comfortable
In the embrace of another
Wanted the memoirs of our
Trip to Brighton Beach
To remain in print, but
Alas, the ink ran into
The Atlantic Ocean
And I am once again
Feeling my arteries
Clog, whether
Blockages within
Or the feeling
You gave my skin
As if follicles could
Dance like the Dutch
I wish to find another who
Can find the softer side of me
Reclining upon my shoulder
Embracing me like a teddy bear
Rendering me a pillow upon which
All these dreams are captured
"I think "Softer Side" is a really touching poem. I feel it's about how someone's heart opened up because of a past love, but then that softness got lost. To me, it feels like it shows the good feeling of being close and then the sadness when that's gone. In the end, I think it's a hopeful poem about wanting to find that gentle feeling again with someone new."
-Gabrielle V
My Body is a cocoon hiding my true self,
Protecting my truth from the harshness outside.
Born in a body that doesn’t match my soul,
A war within for who will control
The outside tells me one thing, the inside another
Conflict ensues, dreams and nightmares follow
In private moments your true self shines
In public, you conform without batting an eye
The protective shell cracks, you test the waters
Digital freedom allows your true self to enter
You find kindred souls, trapped in their own prisons
Looking like you, for their strength to emerge
One day, the chrysalis crumbles,
Your true, beautiful colors shining for the world
As you view your new world in awe and wonder
You soon realize you are not alone after all
IG: kennethwalk_04
"I think this is a strong poem that uses a butterfly's journey from its "cocoon" to show a brave fight. To me, it feels like it's about a person's real self that feels stuck inside their body. The poem beautifully tells the story of finding your true self, feeling free, and finding friends who understand you. Indeed we are not alone after all."
-Gabrielle V
A special "sea burial" acts as a ritual to let go of the past, leading to the hopeful moment when the person truly becomes who they were born to be.
- Gabrielle V
I use my voice now
before It Is taken from me
because what am I
In the story of our American dystopia?
there’s no hiding
I’ve contributed
to the algorithms
there’s no privacy for who
I am
but If It was offered
I like to think
I would refuse to hide
I like to think that I lived so long In the closet that
I tore the door off Its hinges
what am I though
here
raising my voice
a single mother
how strong Is my
right to hold my child In my arms?
how long before that too
Is broken?
What am I In the story of our American dystopia?
The queer mother
the queer woman
all of these words seem torn from his playbook for
2025
my Identity answers the question of
who should be destroyed
second
or third
after the trans people
after the people of color
next comes the destruction of
the rebellious uterus
In his world my voice
Is not wanted
It Is a thing to be exterminated
and I
am all voice
there Is no compliance left In me
not even to keep myself alive
life support Is not enough
to make me want to live
I always said
If I was trapped In my own body
to overdose me
to spare me the pain
of a living death
so I fight now
I fight before my voice Is taken
I fight and hope that others will hear me
here In America
to know you are not alone
to those outside of It
know: we do not all want to make America a great power
used for great destruction
some of us
many of us
perhaps
even most of us
desire to create
to offer kindness
to push back against cruelty
to make this broken
place
beautiful again.
@wordyanddirty on Instagram
@wordyanddirty.bsky.social on BlueSky
"I think this poem is a really strong and urgent shout-out. I feel it's about a person fighting hard to use their voice and be their true self, especially when the world feels tough and unfair. To me, it clearly shows how important it is to speak up and how, by doing so, we can connect with others and hope to make things better, even in a broken place."
-Gabrielle V
