Two Poems by James Stedman
Exhale
Listen to a reading of Exhale by James Stedman:
I put on my rainbow necklace and paint my nails Breathe deep, supplicate to my talismans of protection Until the day finally comes when I can exhale You smile at me, a welcoming friend, what witty tales Will I have, will we make, to add to your collection Since I put on my rainbow necklace and painted my nails Tolerance. But peek beneath the surface, lift society's veil Of decency and every moment harbours potential rejection Until the day finally comes when I can exhale What everyday task might endanger me - if I were to hail A taxi or bus, or speak out of turn, in the wrong direction When I put on my rainbow necklace and paint my nails? Not so far removed in time or place, they'd throw me in jail Or worse and everything could change again at the next election Bring on the day finally when I can exhale Always itching at the back of my mind that I will fail To meet society's standards and be exterminated as an infection But still I put on my rainbow necklace and paint my nails The day will finally come when we can all exhale.
Born and raised
Listen to a reading of Born and raised by James Stedman:
‘It was Philadelphia born and raised’ was the phrase on all the 10-year-old white boys lips, sipping their strawberry Nesquik at home in Frome, a back water Somerset town so far removed from the smooth Fresh Prince as to be invisible. Latchkey kids, revelling in our independence these sentences emblazoned on our tongues as rebellious maturity, microwaving tiny 8-inch frozen pizzas just a limp circle of dough, a smear of ketchup and a couple of cubes of cheese, easily washed down by the weakest-ass instant coffee you can imagine. We never dreamed this would be how we grew up, because we thought we were already grown. If we’d have only known… Ah, we’d have probably still done the same, cos even if we now think how lame it was, the joy we felt as those boys, the certainty, the security is worth a thousand thrones.
James Stedman is a Leith-based poet and theatre-maker who has been creating heartfelt work with a gently comic queer edge for over 10 years. He enjoys juggling the rhythm and fairytale of the everyday and refracting wider social issues through that prism.
His critically acclaimed solo show Joyfully Grimm: Reimagining a Queer Adolescence debuted at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and had a highly successful run at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Performing regularly on the Edinburgh spoken word scene, James has featured in a number of showcases including Loud Poets, Poets of the Night and Hame-ish.