Poetry on Same-Sex Love

By Meghna Ravi 

Fear was an understatement when we held hands that Friday evening in the public park,
The group of school kids in front of us cringed out of disgust whilst staring at our intertwined fingers.
The family having a picnic on our left side, looked at us and that is all the father had to do before he had to distract his children from us.
The two girls walking from the opposite, smiled at us, proudly that we were brave enough to even touch in public.
The old man on the bench gave a curious stare at us and walked away and mumbled, “how did our generation go so wrong?”

Fear was an understatement when we held hands that Friday evening in the public park.
My lover beside me, took our interlocked hands and kissed my forehand, making me finally look up to them 
and there they were, with their calming smile, which implied that, “everything will be okay”.
We inhaled the city air, which smelled of grass and cheap fragrance and together we walked, now with less fright.
Maybe our love was forbidden in the eyes of the beholder, in the eyes of that religious couple, in the eyes of that drunk man.
But our love was stronger, than any of their coping mechanisms. 

Happiness was an understatement when we kissed that Friday evening in the public park.
When an old couple, seeing us kissing, aw’ed in the distance and praised love.
When a young boy came up to us and told me that my lover was handsome.
When I kissed my lover again and again and again that all i could notice was not the stares, not the snarled remarks but only them.

(some things to clear up :
*”them” here is used as the lover’s pronouns, don’t let it confuse you in the last line!
*the religious couple here doesn’t mean every religious person hates on the community.)