Western Sydney Rainbow Connection are excited to announce a soon to be published Rainbow Booklet featuring amazing LGBTQI+ writers from throughout Western Sydney.
As a special sneak peek we’d like to share a wonderful poem from our IDAHOBIT guest speaker Jeremy Santos, enjoy…
Jeremy Santos
Jeremy is a Sydney based movement artist and spoken word poet creating and performing from his perspective as a queer Asian millennial living with HIV. The meeting point of his two passions Dance and Poetry allows for a unique performance style in both his movement and spoken word.
MOUNT NEVER REST
Dear Future Me,
Some people will not understand you
when you say.
You are an artist.
Some people will snicker and scoff,
Furrow their brows, turn up their nose
or lower their gaze in condescension.
They will not see how your
your eccentric outfits and individual style
are a uniform, an armour, explorers gear
Which speaks of the adventures you’ve had
And the wilderness you are yet to experience.
They will not see how your voice
Carries the weight of a royal address,
How your journey
Mirrors a procession to an inauguration,
How your brain is a crown
And your eyes with their unique perspectives
are the priceless jewels that are set in it,
Adorning your head,
Everyday a coronation.
It will not be revealed to them how
Each inspiration feels as if
we are mountain climbers,
Standing at the base of Mount Never Rest.
Peering up at the epic journey ahead,
Anxiety weighing on our shoulders,
Fear constricting our throat,
Doubt refusing our first steps,
And still we press on.
With each base camp that we reach,
Connections are made with
Fellow travellers on this collective trip
We call Creative expression.
We learn to calm our heart,
Steady our breathes,
Feel the rhythm of the earth beneath us
So we may continue onwards
No matter how thin the air gets.
And then suddenly,
We reach the summit.
We watch the sun rise.
Hand in hand we stand
As a new dawn breaks on
Our creation and light shines
On the trail blazed up this mountain.
We peer back with new clarity
And see how each of our paths
Connect, overlap and parallel. A weaving
Of a breathtaking Tapestry. A taxing
And rewarding climb we will do
Time and time again.
We will soak in this scenery,
This view from above the clouds.
This sight that so few in the world,
In our lives, will have access too…
And then we will journey back down,
Sharing through painting, through writing,
Through dancing and storytelling this
Portrait of the world, A Landscape of living
that demands to be seen.
You will say,
I am an artist.
And they will not understand.
But we will and you know who we are.
Take solace in that, you powerful, beautiful soul.
The journey was never easy.
The climb will claim so much but
The gift it gives in return… invaluable.
Remember this when it gets darkest and
You return to the base of Mount Never Rest.
See you at the summit.
I believe in you.
With Love, Support, Protection
& Gratitude,
Me.
