A Civil Partnership Indeed
It is the right in law to be present at
my lover’s funeral or he at mine. it is
the right in law to be his next of kin
in hospital without having to insist
and persist in face of their disdain
it is the right to equality before the
law, recognising that our “loving
relationship” (our love) is to the benefit
of all and should be validated as such
- yes, in property, intestacy and tax
law; thank you very much
but we already have the romance
the passion, the deepest love the
celebration of something stronger than
the state's, till now, lawfully ill-concealed
contempt or hate
so this date will simply be him and me
turning up to collect what has been,
for forty one years, our rights withheld
by the vast majority now claiming
“it never bothered me, mate” and
worse expecting us to be gleeful
(perhaps a little grateful?) 'cause at last
they’ve shown some ethical backbone
brings to mind some lines i wrote for
Nelson Mandela in "The Gift":
You cannot give me freedom
I have always been free
Freedom lives in me
so forgive moi (or not as you please)
for not going soft at the edges shaky at
the knees or rosy red in the spectacles
to put you at your, comfortable,
complacent, makes me want to vomit,
ease.
Yopu can find this on his poetry blog, http://www.intothelight.info
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