T List #26

October Mourning by Leslea Newman

I didn't realize this was poetry until I read the forward of the book. I chose it because the book jacket sounded interesting. Poetry and I don't usually get along; it asks to much of me with all the layers of understanding generally required. This, however, was fairly straightforward, and will likely haunt me for a while.

All of the poetry in this book was inspired by Matthew Shepard, a young, gay man who was brutally beaten, tied to a fence, and left to die in 1998 simply because he was gay. I have a problem with this. I don't understand the "logic" that leads someone to hurt and kill another person because they are different. It hurts my heart that this young man died in this way, but I am glad that, because of this book, more gays/lesbians/bisexuals/transgenders may have an easier way of things.

I encourage you to read this book.