May 10, 2000
By Antony H.
This photo stirred Antony to write the poem below about Greg being arrested at the 2000 United Methodist General Conference in Cleveland. Antony was a member of Broadway church. He wrote the poem after the General Conference voted to keep the restrictive policies about ministry to LGBT persons.
I saw you
surrounded by police
your face drawn by the sorrow
of a thousand gay lives
shattered in the conspiracy
that kills in the end.
You surrendered your freedom
with the descendants of
Gandhi and King
and honored my captivity
in the land of life and liberty.
In your eyes misted by tears
I saw a vision of that night
my lover and I wept together
on the edge of our bed.
He drove away at dawn
and still believed the lie
that we weren’t OK.
The bars I’m behind
are not constructed in steel
but in ideas invisible as the wind
strong as hurricanes
ideas that bring the driving rains of loss.
The police put you in jail
with the descendants of
Gandhi and King
and behind those steel bars
you discovered me in your cell
and sat at my side...
...in the land of life and liberty.