Content warnings: reference to AIDS
by Axel-Nathaniel Rose
How they fight the sweet call of suicide!
Queen of the Ball vogues, reclaiming her crime
Glitter fills the cavities; pulsing pride,
Night marries these bodies moving through time
We encase ourselves in silver and gold
History relived and torn from the page
The secret to pride continues untold
Raw and pristine as we are, centre stage
Read meaning of gowns and hankies and shades
The band plays on, silk frays, heart breaks once more
Pink triangles drift; the spectre of AIDS
We take on the broken and build our corps
In this beauty we’ve made down we will lay
To you I am bound, forever I’ll stay.
Axel has been writing since the tender age of five, his debut novel The Evle King dedicated to his brother’s tyranny over the household armchair. His writing has since expanded to short stories, poetry, and oration, with particular focus on queer narratives, mental illness and social media.