Sonnets

Martin Boyce - In the Stonewall Inn when the raid started

The bar was very packed

The night I heard of a raid and;
Police came in and yacked
The cops were mad cause they weren’t paid

Free Verses

Martin Boyce - In the Stonewall Inn when the raid started

The Night of Stonewall

The bar was very crowded

The night I heard of the raid
Police came in and shouted
They made a ruckus cause they weren’t paid

Cries and screams came from the inn

Queens were first to be dragged out
The bar became a desert, no one within
There were hollers, screams, and shouts

People slammed against metal walls

A drag queen’s bones snapped in two
The crowd silently observed like dolls
But after the cop spoke it broke out like a zoo

They attacked the cop who hurt that queen

Fire and racket were made by thee
Cops tried to hide from the scene
Finally the streets had cleared by three

Stormé Delarverie - Got arrested in the riot/started the riot

The Riot I Started

I was dragged out the bar

Cuffed several times that night
They kept taking me to the car
But I escaped putting up a fight

I screamed till there ears bled

I fought four cops with no assist
The pain was aching in my head
Cause I said the cuffs were cutting my wrists

I looked out at the people staring

No one was gonna help
I was going to do something daring
And I decided to yelp

I was thrown against the wall

But the crowd finally had might
I'm glad I made that call
Cause that's what started the Stonewall fight

Jay Toole - Joined the riot

We All Joined

The word came to the dead silent park

The Inn was having a riot
We walked down in the dark
That place was not so quiet

Over hundreds of people were gathered

Everyone so diverse
We all felt so empowered
For the cops it all got worse

Anything found was thrown

Lit on fire and all
The cops were on their own
They mostly hid in Stonewall

People went home tired in the head

Then by three and four the streets were at rest
But at the park it wasn’t so dead
All night we spoke no time to stress