Featuring "Half," a poem by Oswaldo Montenegro. Edited by Genesio Oliveira.

"Great strides toward equality for gays have been made in this country, but the woeful fate of Tim Coco and Genesio Oliveira,a same-sex married couple facing the deportation of one spouse because the federal government does not recognize their marriage shows that thousands of same-sex couples, even in Massachusetts, still aren't really full citizens."

More information:
"Reunite this Family," an editorial by the Boston Globe, published August 27, 2007 (http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/08/27/reunite_this_family/)

________"Half"______________

May the force of fear I have
don't hold me to see what I wish.
May the death of all that I believe
don't close my ears and mouth.
Because half of me is what I scream
but the other half is silence.

May to be beautiful the music I can hear far away, even though sadness.
May the one I love be forever loved,
even apart.
Because half of me is departure,
but the other half is yearning.

May the words I speak be not heard as a prayer nor repeated with fervor,
only respected as the only thing remaining
to a man flooded with feelings.
Because half of me is what I hear,
but the other half is what I keep silent.

May that my desire to leave
becomes into the calm and peace that I deserve, and may that stress that erodes me from inside be one day rewarded.
Because half of me is what I think
and the other half is a volcano.

May the fear of loneliness go away,
may the sociability with myself become at least bearable.
May the mirror reflects in my face a sweet smile that I remember to have given in childhood.
Because half of me is the memory of what I was, and the other half I don't know ...

May don't need anything else more than a simple joy for make me pacify my own spirit.
And may your silence talk to me each time more.
Because half of me is refuge,
but the other half is tiredness.

May the art to aim us an answer,
even though she doesn't know,
and may nobody try to complicate it
because is needed simplicity to make it flourish.
Because half of me is the audience
and the other half is a song.

And may my madness be forgiven.
Because half of me is love
and the other half...
...too.

(Translated from the original poem, "Metade," by Oswaldo Montenegro)