I arrive at 6:47 P.M.
there's a vague line
I join and am approached
by a volunteer
who is tipped off-center
by my guest count
(having RSVP'd +2
I arrived +none)
enter
and easily find a seat
one over from a white haired gentleman
his wife
when she arrives
asks me why I am here
I say
to learn what others
have to say
she does not respond
pregnant pause
she shows me her stake
on her I-phone
a picture of her gay niece
her wife
the adopted daughter
I nod and smile and awkwardly
go silent
and start sizing up the crowd
who is for
who is against
the gum popping
high-collared white guys
and the ladies in frumpy
floral prints
I mentally mark as for
and most
since this is sponsored by an NPR station
I assume
are against
the stoop shouldered gentleman with the dolorous voice
introduces the panelists
people are buzzing and aligning themselves
the audience is acting
"
he not busy being born
is dying"
the man for
wrote a book about it being
Correct
not Politically Correct
cites statistics that show
marriage
between a man and woman
is the healthy foundation
of civilized society
the man against
a local law professor
thinks it is bad law
this
is
where we begin
even though
we all
know
this is about
gay
and straight
both men receive hisses and applauding
this polite NPR audience can't help themselves
the serpent's back is rising
the forceful voices without clarity speak
which is most of both sides
but really
I think
there just ain't a rational argument against
as
the language of bigotry is always the same
the core of the argument
is
why do they have to have what we have
can't it be
separate
but equal
civil unions not marriage
same old bullshit
is what I think
