(no subject)
What fun we had
Then laughter turned sad.
Oh, where did the good times go?
Our hopes and plans
Slipped right through our hands
Oh, where did the good times go?
Someplace and somewhere
Instead of despair
Is the love we used to know.
Why can't we return?
Won't we ever learn?
Oh, where did the good times go?
**********************
Another day at Moses Brown,
A high school in Rhode Island
Announcements every Tuesday
And a forum for the kids
To have their chance to stand and speak
To share their feelings once a week.
Never had that kind of thing
When I was back in school.
So, here was Tuesday, ten AM
Right in the school gymnasium
Silently some forty students
Rose up from their seats
Walked up to the front
And formed a line to face their classmates.
Each held a paper sign
With one big letter on each sheet.
This was a Day of Silence
For many round the country
To lower their voice in union
With all people who are gay.
The forty kids who held their ground
Were spelling out a question:
"What will you do to end the silence?"
Was what they didn't say.
A roaring stillness filled the air
The hush eventually provoked
A couple other students
Muttering "This is what we'll do.
We want to form our own group
It's called the DFD."
A different silence followed
With a stifled laugh or two.
But those three letters caused a stir
That ripped right through the school that day
Emotions had been triggered
That could no longer be denied.
Notes on the opinions board
Opened up the flood gates.
Soon everybody knew those letters stood
For "Die, Fag, Die."
Next morning came, the word was out
A nerve had been exposed,
A special meeting in the gym
And everyone was there.
Furious, the principal
Declared her disappointment
That such a thing could happen
In the walls that they all share.
"We've always prided Moses
As a place where all are safe," she said,
"Regardless of our differences,
Beliefs or what we do.
These words that we heard yesterday
Diminish human dignity.
I thought our school a haven,
Now I see that it's not true."
One by one now, others rose
Both faculty and students
Some defensive, others outraged
All would have their say.
But as each person stood and spoke
A wall was slowly building.
Brick by brick a wall of pain
Was rising there that day.
The meeting nearly over now
The room on razors edges.
No one knew just how to bridge
This gap or what to say.
Then Corey Clinton stood
And cleared his throat, the gym fell silent
For everyone at Moses Brown
Knew Corey Clinton was gay.
Corey Clinton, gay they knew
He'd never tried to hide it.
His noted on the opinion board
Were there for all to see.
He raised his voice and looked around
And spoke to all assembled:
"All I've got is love for you.
What do you have for me?"
"What do you have for me?" he said,
And simply sat back down again
Instead of adding to that wall
He'd opened up a door.
And afterwards, a bunch of kids
Came up to Corey crying,
Including some who'd hassled him
So many times before.
Another day at Moses Brown
A high school in Rhode Island.
Announcements every Tuesday,
Never know what they might be.
Though Corey's off to college now
His words still echo through those halls:
"All I've got is love for you.
What do you have for me?"
So many things have made me cry this week. Things that have happened, things I've thought about, things that go on in the world every day. Day of Silence is going strong in its eleventh year as the largest student-led action in the country, but we haven't ended the silence, yet. The fact that we still have to be silent, and the fact that people who participate still get harassed shows the need for solidarity. Why do people bully? Why do people fear something different? Why do people hate? Why do people open fire on innocent students? We cannot be silent every day, and we shouldn't have to be silent for much longer. But until we end the silence of those too scared to speak out, we need to join in solidarity. We need to show that we, too, are willing to sacrifice something for those who have no choice.
Then laughter turned sad.
Oh, where did the good times go?
Our hopes and plans
Slipped right through our hands
Oh, where did the good times go?
Someplace and somewhere
Instead of despair
Is the love we used to know.
Why can't we return?
Won't we ever learn?
Oh, where did the good times go?
**********************
Another day at Moses Brown,
A high school in Rhode Island
Announcements every Tuesday
And a forum for the kids
To have their chance to stand and speak
To share their feelings once a week.
Never had that kind of thing
When I was back in school.
So, here was Tuesday, ten AM
Right in the school gymnasium
Silently some forty students
Rose up from their seats
Walked up to the front
And formed a line to face their classmates.
Each held a paper sign
With one big letter on each sheet.
This was a Day of Silence
For many round the country
To lower their voice in union
With all people who are gay.
The forty kids who held their ground
Were spelling out a question:
"What will you do to end the silence?"
Was what they didn't say.
A roaring stillness filled the air
The hush eventually provoked
A couple other students
Muttering "This is what we'll do.
We want to form our own group
It's called the DFD."
A different silence followed
With a stifled laugh or two.
But those three letters caused a stir
That ripped right through the school that day
Emotions had been triggered
That could no longer be denied.
Notes on the opinions board
Opened up the flood gates.
Soon everybody knew those letters stood
For "Die, Fag, Die."
Next morning came, the word was out
A nerve had been exposed,
A special meeting in the gym
And everyone was there.
Furious, the principal
Declared her disappointment
That such a thing could happen
In the walls that they all share.
"We've always prided Moses
As a place where all are safe," she said,
"Regardless of our differences,
Beliefs or what we do.
These words that we heard yesterday
Diminish human dignity.
I thought our school a haven,
Now I see that it's not true."
One by one now, others rose
Both faculty and students
Some defensive, others outraged
All would have their say.
But as each person stood and spoke
A wall was slowly building.
Brick by brick a wall of pain
Was rising there that day.
The meeting nearly over now
The room on razors edges.
No one knew just how to bridge
This gap or what to say.
Then Corey Clinton stood
And cleared his throat, the gym fell silent
For everyone at Moses Brown
Knew Corey Clinton was gay.
Corey Clinton, gay they knew
He'd never tried to hide it.
His noted on the opinion board
Were there for all to see.
He raised his voice and looked around
And spoke to all assembled:
"All I've got is love for you.
What do you have for me?"
"What do you have for me?" he said,
And simply sat back down again
Instead of adding to that wall
He'd opened up a door.
And afterwards, a bunch of kids
Came up to Corey crying,
Including some who'd hassled him
So many times before.
Another day at Moses Brown
A high school in Rhode Island.
Announcements every Tuesday,
Never know what they might be.
Though Corey's off to college now
His words still echo through those halls:
"All I've got is love for you.
What do you have for me?"
So many things have made me cry this week. Things that have happened, things I've thought about, things that go on in the world every day. Day of Silence is going strong in its eleventh year as the largest student-led action in the country, but we haven't ended the silence, yet. The fact that we still have to be silent, and the fact that people who participate still get harassed shows the need for solidarity. Why do people bully? Why do people fear something different? Why do people hate? Why do people open fire on innocent students? We cannot be silent every day, and we shouldn't have to be silent for much longer. But until we end the silence of those too scared to speak out, we need to join in solidarity. We need to show that we, too, are willing to sacrifice something for those who have no choice.