So many times I have heard
''It's not a crime to love''
''I love
I love
and there's no law against it''
so then why is it treated that way?
I want him to hold his boyfriend's hand and not
be scared of their words
like handcuffs
I want her to kiss her girlfriend's lips
with her eyes closed
for once not looking around the busy Sunday streets
at who is staring
I want their bodies to blend
just like everyone else's
free from laws
free from prohibition
and hatred, disgust
simply for gender
because hey
look
they both wear makeup
or they're both in dresses
they met whilst playing on the all-male football team
when they were born
their baby showers were themed blue
when really, gender is not a colour
just like love is not a gender
and no love-banning law
will make love a criminal act

It's not a crime
to think their skin is made of constellations
it's not a crime
to feel warmth in your bones when they're lying beside you
it's not a crime
to kiss them with passion so intense
it makes your own heart fleet to your stomach
And I don't want to live in a world
where the crime is not in the bloodied fist of the attacker
or the cruel words spat from their mouth
but in the man with the red river gushing from his nose
simply because he gave his heart to another man