My Young Friend (Paige McRae - New Orleans, LA)

He lay just up the road from my father, the young man I grew to consider my friend though we never met in this realm. On our way to my father’s grave, I was strangely drawn to one nearby. A few small stuffed animals had been placed around it, as if they could either be standing guard or keeping company. I walked up to read the gravestone and learned it was the final resting place of a youth of seventeen. The offerings, loving expressions of grief from his friends, likely their first experience of death with someone so close to their own age. I felt as if I were sharing it with them. My father had been closer in age to when one naturally crosses the veil, but in a way he introduced. On future visits I always made it a point to say hello to my young friend.

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Louisiana Words Remembers Jorge Arturo

There’s nothing that hurts more than when we lose someone from our Louisiana Words family. But, the beauty of our writing movement is that the words of our loved ones live on with us. On June 20th, 2023, Louisiana Words Allstar, Jorge Arturo, moved on from this world leaving our hearts broken. He was a charismatic and talented human being. Jorge resided in New Orleans, LA and had been active on Louisiana Words for over a year. To honor Jorge’s life and work, we will be sharing his writing and live performances all Summer 2023. Please help keep his spirit alive by sharing his work. We know that Jorge’s words will connect with our readers and we hope to keep his spirit alive. Jorge’s first submission: “The Dog Show” debuted on February 6th, 2022 and is his most successful piece to date. In 2022, Jorge spent 10 weeks in the top with “The Dog Show,” “Weavers,” “They Say Love Kills, This Time It Really Did,” and “If Hell is Real, It Looks Like an Airport.” His la...

CALL FOR WRITERS! Please Help Inspire Our Community to Keep Hope!

Louisiana Words (LouisianaWords.com) showcases the positivity of the Louisiana LGBTQIA+ writers community and our allies. Our family of writers are lighting up the state of Louisiana and the rest of the world for the Winter 2025 season starting on Sunday, January 5th, 2025! Louisiana Words is a LGBTQIA+ organization that promotes writers who live and who have lived in Louisiana! We are here to be a creative outlet that helps uplift and inspire each other! Louisiana Words is gearing up for another great year of talent! We are calling for writers! If you live in Louisiana or have lived in Louisiana, you can submit! We accept poetry, fiction, short plays, short screenplays, or memoirs! We love writing from new or seasoned writers! No politically-motivated content will be accepted. LouisianaWords.com is the home for Louisiana's LGBTQIA+ Louisiana writers and our allies! We help market new and seasoned writers for FREE! Just submit your work and we’ll get you into our content rot...

Nobody Said There'd Be a Day Like This (Sam Ray - New Orleans, LA)

I know how this should be: I've seen it, you see, In soap operas, Movies. Your eyes are closed, As if in sleep. Perfect peachy skin Atop a snow white pillow Under flawlessly matched sheets. The heart monitor, Quiet bleeps. The ventilator, A steady hiss. None of that is this. Your eyes Stuck open Seeing without sight Yellow sclera Dumb tears streaming. Tubes, taped to your face Delicate skin torn Where nurses Repositioned them To feed you To heal you You never liked being told What to do. Your whole torso spasms Spastic, Every 40 seconds. A machine Forces your lungs to act. Your hands are warm From hemodialysis But don't respond When we each grab one Give it a kiss. We spend the day Brushing your hair Telling stories Singing songs. Praying prayers. You're not there. Hospital staff Are more lovely If less pretty Than on TV. When the time comes They gently walk us From the room Close the curtai...

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