Welcome to the Matthew Shepard Update Poetry Garden

Lambda Midwest Memorial Page for Matthew Shepard: The First Update

Matthew Shepard Update Discussion List Originally formed on 10/16/98 on onelist.com and moved to yahoogroups.com. Subscribe today and view the archives also!! Need an HTML fragment to get others to subscribe, email me:Rodney Allen Bell, II

Click to subscribe to MatthewShepardUpdate

Click to view archives of MatthewShepardUpdate

======================================================================
Something that you might consider reading and maybe reading at a
vigil or other gathering is this piece by Carol McNeely Co-List Owner
Lambda Midwest songofjoy4ever@juno.com :

A TRIBUTE FOR MATTHEW October 12,1998

My heart has broken with the death of matthew that I am sure most of you
have heard about the last few days so this morning I wrote this tribute.
I just feel the need to share it. thanks. carol

Your picture flashed across tv screens around the world-
A handsome young man with a radiant smile.
Surely, this could not have happened-we were shocked in disbelief-
How could anyone create such horrendous grief?

Matthew, I am sure when you started that day,
anticipating a night of fun with trusted friends,
Innocently getting into the truck-
You didn't know it was the beginning of the end.

No one there to hear your pain,
as they maimed and hurt you so-
Matthew, my spirit grieves for the horror they did to you.

You died today-
and when you did-the nation grieved for you,
but matthew your spirit will live on because of who you were.
I am proud that you were one of us,
your spirit will shine through!

Let us bind ourselves together our hearts in one accord,
To save and love our "family"
Gay, lesbian and proud!

=====================================================================
Source: Kevyn Jacobs kevyn@EARTHLING.NET
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1998 12:58:58 +0000
Subject: We Shall Overcome

I post this old freedom hymn in memory of Matthew Shepherd. It might come
in useful at the candlelight vigils tonight. Matthew: your sacrifice and
courage will not be forgotten.
=================================

We Shall Overcome

We shall overcome,
We shall overcome,
We shall overcome some day.
Oh, deep in my heart (I know that)
I do believe: We shall overcome some day.

We`ll walk hand in hand
We`ll walk hand in hand
We`ll walk hand in hand some day.
Oh, deep in my heart (I know that)
I do believe: We shall overcome some day.

We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace
We shall live in peace some day.
Oh, deep in my heart (I know that)
I do believe: We shall overcome some day.

We are not afraid
We are not afraid
We are not afraid to-day
Oh, deep in my heart (I know that)
I do believe: We shall overcome some day.

We shall all be free
We shall all be free
We shall all be free some day.
Oh, deep in my heart (I know that)
I do believe: We shall overcome some day.

We are not alone
We are not alone
We are not alone to-day.
Oh, deep in my heart (I know that)
I do believe: We shall overcome some day.

======================================================================

 
Scarecrows Coming Out  
By Seth Watkins  
For Matthew Shepard 
trussed up like a scarecrow
under midnight shadows
by the hands of bigotry and hate
our hero, our loved-one, and our brother
deep within a frozen wasteland
secret about the spirit of humanity 
thugs, villains, and marauders 
bash, break, beat, bruise, and burglarize
our friend, our peer, and our fellow
simply because they fear--
our spirit, our being, and our love
because it's eternal and closes distance
if only those of ignorance and hate
could take a heart within their hand
raise it to their nervous ear 
and hear the sound of life
it calls--the universal human spirit
in a chorus of unconditional love 
it is the true faith, the true God
it is the true Christian 
yet the poor souls can not hear
the resonance of that beauty-- 
it ricochets off their own hearts
and bounces into time and space--forgotten
they leave a helpless youth 
to fend off the cold hand of Death
and scatter to the wind 
like startled crows off a scarecrow
a family feels that pain
vibrating through its very essence
and rushes to love, to heal, and to hold at bay
the very hand of Death and Hate
this is our hero, our loved-one, and our brother
and not the scarecrow of ignorant 
love deprived and cold-hearted 
thugs, villains and murderers
we shall rise to our cause-- 
rise from the hospital beds
the streets and from our very graves
to love unconditional and for all time
we're coming out
________________________________ 
All rights Reserved By The Author

=======================================================================
WEAR A BLACK RIBBON CAMPAIGN: I am encouraging the
gay/lesbian/bi/trans community and our allies to adopt the black ribbon
to signify anti-gay/lesbian violence and other hate crimes. The Black
Ribbon would best represent the bleak state of affairs in America today
for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered, African Americans, Other
Races and Ethnic Groups. Because we have ignorance it is dark and we
need light to shed on this ignorance so that it doesn't happen over and
over!!! Wearing a black ribbon would bring some awareness to the world
that we are not going to forget the death of Matthew Shepard, nor any of
the acts of hatred towards minorities in America today!!! Wear a black
ribbon to mourn the senseless loss of another young life to hatred and
intolerance, and to mourn the loss of security of all BGLT Americans.

Please do something now. Let it be known that we have had enough.
This loss will not go unremembered; it must not go unpunished. We cannot
allow it to be swept under the rug. We cannot just suffer in silence any
longer.

For Lambda Midwest and the UNL Gay/Lesbian Alumniae Assoc., Inc.
Rodney Allen Bell, II, B.A. Political Scientist/Queer Midwest Activist
ICQ: 4734586
P.O. Box 45357, Kansas City, MO 64171 (816) 931-6829 Voice
lovespirit@earthlink.net lovespirit@juno.com lovespirit@webtv.net
Check out my auctions on ebay.com:
http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/lovespirit/