Vox Populi
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Brad Peacock: Pride (Two Poems)
Look Deeper
From outside appearances,
I may be a middle-aged man now
with gray in my beard, hair receding like an ocean tide
and crows’ feet permanently imprinted
on the corners of my eyes,
each line like a rolodex
full of stories—
the good, the bad; the joy, the sad.
But dig a little deeper under the surface,
and you will find a little boy
who will always live inside the walls of this aging body,
a younger self who did not have the words,
did not have the voice or skills to navigate
the complex world he was born into.
Insecure and scared,
he always pushed his needs down
to take care of others,
frozen in fear from seeking the love he always wanted
until his light was nothing more
than one last smoldering ember
almost extinguished
beneath piles of ashes,
having almost given up on this life.
Now I walk down gravel roads with my husband
side by side,
paying close attention
as we help one another heal,
comforting those two little boys
forever within us,
hand in hand—
growing older together,
finally finding our way home.
~~
Our Anthem
For my LGBTQ+ Family
You can scrub letters from websites
You can take away our healthcare
You can do your best to strip away our humanity
We will not be erased
You can misgender people
You can continue your campaign of casual cruelty
You can burn these very written words
Ban the books that mention our existence
We will not be erased
We are loving sons, daughters, and children
We are brothers, sisters, and siblings
We are family
We are friends
We are neighbors
We are those who care for your loved ones
We are those who risk our lives for your freedom
We are the farmers who feed your families
We belong in every community
We will never allow your darkness to diminish us
We are devoted prisms of brilliance
Whose collective fractals of light
Will forever find the fissures in the barriers you fabricate
We will never be erased
~~~~
Copyright 2025 Brad Peacock. “Look Deeper” first appeared in the anthology Love is For All of Us, edited by James Crews & Brad Peacock (Storey, 2025).
Brad Peacock is an organic farmer and co-editor, with his husband, of Love Is for All of Us: Poems of Tenderness & Belonging from the LGBTQ+ Community & Friends. He was kicked out of the military for being gay under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, and now lives on land in Vermont that he is rehabilitating with native plants and flowers, slowly returning the ecosystem to a paradise for pollinators and all wildlife.
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Oh, yes. And here we are… could we not change the world just a little bit?
“[…] you will find a little boy (OR GIRL)
who will always live inside the walls of this aging body,
a younger self who did not have the words,
did not have the voice or skills to navigate
the complex world he was born into.”
Thank you for these poems.
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HUGS to that younger self, Brad! My heart breaks for the young people living in the current climate of hate and fear and loss of rights and support. How many others have to live through the struggles you describe? Everyone deserves the right to be themselves without ever feeling like giving up.
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It was such a pleasure to get to hear you read both of these poems out loud this past weekend in Framingham, Brad! They carry so much beauty and truth, they take my breath away. Wonderful to see them published here. Thank you! 🙂 Sue Mapel
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Beautiful prophetic words! Bravo! Bravo!
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May I read this poem on Wednesday, June 11th at an Irish American Writers & Artists salon that I host. It will be at Slainte Oakland.
I want to share some pride themes.
It is very powerful and prescient .
Lori Cassels
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Thanks, Lori. I’ll make sure that Brad gets your request.
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Hi Lori! Brad’s husband James says that Brad gives you permission to read the poem. Thank you!
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Hi Lori. I would be honored to have you read my poem. Thank you so much!
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What a buoyant pair of poems. You, your partner and your love will never be erased, as growing older together, you find your way home. You find in each other what saves us, if we find it too.
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Wise words, Jim. Thank you.
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Thank you so much, and thank you for your support!
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Yes. Yes. Yes to these poems and the love that drives them–I feel it coming right out of the screen! Thank you for meeting the world heart first and with courage, dear Brad. Thank you, dear Michael, for sharing these poems.
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Thank you, Rosemerry. I’ve often thought that you have the heart of an angel.
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Thank goodness Ed’s for Vox Populi— an island of love.
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Typo ( as usual) my phone puts in extra words ( who is Ed?)
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So wonderful to see your fine poems here! Sending BIG love to you and James!
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Two absolutely beautiful and necessary poems! You and James are definitely “devoted prisms of brilliance” and I am so grateful for your light in the world! ✨
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“crows’ feet permanently imprinted on the corners of my eyes, each line like a rolodex full of stories”
Thanks, Mike, for allowing Brad to share or at least hint at some of these stories, which break the heart even as they reassure us of possibility.
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Thanks, Syd. I’ve read half a dozen of Brad’s poems, and I admire their careful craft and their commitment to social justice.
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What a lovely and welcome surprise to find that you are not only a most dedicated farmer, but also a poet, dear Brad. Thank you for those poems and for what you do to help the ecosystem find its richness & beauty again. Poetry and farming should (of course!!) always go hand in hand. James spoke so dearly of you when he and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer gave their beautiful reading here on California’s central coast a month ago…
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A lovely comment, Laure-Anne. thank you!
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How clear, how beautiful. Thank you, Brad.
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Thanks, Lola!
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