Yellow Bayou - (Barry Sons-Berwick, LA)

In 1957, I was 11 years old. Hurricane Audrey had passed
and the nutrias had taken hold. So Papa took us to Yellow Bayou to kill
the thirty pound rats. Yellow Bayou was the sublime to the ridiculous of that.
Sitting on the hold of the Bond, before the violet cracked the dawn,
facing due east, the sun shot, in thirty breaths……….the violet gone.
Racing on the water a shinning ribbon of gold, the warm light hit my face
and burned into my soul. It was just a sunrise after all, how important could it be?
Well two things happened that day that changed my future for me.
My Papa knew who I was and there are thing called wet dreams.

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Ash Wednesday (Brian Falcon - New Orleans, LA)

It’s forgettable- the number of times I was called a “fucking faggot” as a kid. As a former child of god, I wasn’t expected to know what those words meant. I was taught that repentance was vital to achieving everlasting life. My momma made me go to church every Sunday. I said my prayers as I was told. But I eventually learned that Catholicism was never my sanctuary. Christianity was never my safe-haven. God never stopped the cheap shots. He never once prevented the harassment or pure embarrassment that I felt from the words of my “kin in Christ.” Now, picture me- a helpless faggot, blinded by the incandescent lights of an old catholic church. I was home from college spending Spring Break in my former hellscape. So, naturally, my momma yet again made me go to church. This time, on a Wednesday. It was Ash Wednesday. When I was among the folks from home, I felt out of place. So much that I’d imagine camouflaging myself. Like saber-tooth in hiding. But the difference? I had a far mo...

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