Sarah H. (Dublin, b. 2003)

Self-Sovereignty

2021

Chicken wire and found objects

This work, combining sculpture and poetry, is my response to my experiences growing up queer. It forced me to mature faster. I struggled under the weight of other people constantly making judgements or passing comments about me and I felt a disconnect between how others saw me and how I saw myself. I am now learning how to take back my power and practice self-sovereignty.

Poetry

Ordinary Love

This piece aims to showcase queer love in the same light as any other love, for all the boring a beautiful reality it is.

Our love is pure, untouched, unbroken
Our love is nothing special,  beautifully ordinary
It’s Cheesy rom-com dates 
       Cuddles before breakfast
       Fighting over slices of toast

Not greedy or cheating. Not a can’t  make up mind kinda phase 
It’s the exact same love. 
And it’s funny it’s always love we come back to.
An Ordinary love 
A Comfortable love 
A Safe love 

My love is all of this and more
My love is pink clouds and seeking out late 
My love is a universal truth 
A best kept secret shouted from the rooftops 

They give me life
Not he or she 
Not because of what they are but who they are 
They are my love 

Such an extraordinary everyday love.

Let us be ordinary

A response to negative experiences some same sex couples have while out in public. It expresses the fatigue in fighting daily homophobia.

Stop making our love painful,
Stop making it sore,
Why must it change mountains and minds? 
Why can’t it just sit on worn and couches and cuddle?

We’re not tokens 
Not trying to be “the gay couple”
I just want to be another cliché,
Another nameless pair of hands.

It’s an ordinary love
A love like any other 
Stop naming, shaming, blaming, changing 
Something so pure someone I adore. 
A walk, day, date it was perfect 
But only before

And now it hangs heavy in the air 
Every time we dare touch
A love so innocent is now poisoned 
I’m so sick of owing anyone and everyone an explanation an excuse 

We’ve existed we’ve marched we’ve fought 
and now We Love

Love

An exploration of growing up LGBTQIA+ in a religious environment and coming to terms with hateful teachings from home and church.

I don’t want to fight for my love 
She is the world all directions all weathers, 
You claim to preach verses but wont listen to a dove
She is the raging sea and clear sky.

Yet still I have to face the world and lie, say 
When I look at her          
          My heart doesn’t leap
Truth is a world without
Her makes me weep 
Staring numb until I sleep
This emotion runs too deep 

Even so,  when the lord my soul does reap 
I believe he won’t shout or scream at us 
But rather apologise for those who wouldn’t discuss 
Those who claimed to preach 
But, whose heart he couldn’t reach 

So forever and always she’ll be mine
We won’t fight anymore 
Our life pure, intertwine 
Listen to the lord and let us love 

                                    I implore.

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