Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2021: This Gay Club is my Church
by James McDermott
In lockdown, I was isolated from my LGBTQ scene and so I wrote this praise poem to gay bars in order to conjure them when they were closed and to explore why I love visiting them.
Poetry Archive Now Wordview 2021: This Gay Club is my Church
he made me queer this gay club is my church
I come here religiously
I come for confession I come for confirmation
I come for love I come for communion
I come to praise him him her them me us
I come to worship our lady gaga
I come to sing hymns to the Madonna
I come to dance I come to bask in light
I come to cast away the devil shame
I come to kneel I come to kiss his ring
I come to take his flesh inside my mouth
I come to feel him enter me I come
to feel him inside me I come
to feel him move in mysterious ways
he made me queer this gay club is my church
Poem recorded as part of Poetry Archive Now: Wordview 2021. Used by permission of author.