This is going to be a very long author's note, but bear with me on this.
I got inspired by my late aunt's story about a fling she had with her childhood best friend. I never saw her friend because they were forcefully separated by their parents.
Her friend got married, but my great aunt didn't, as her sister, my grandmother, got knocked up and the father did not accept them. She took pity on her and raised my father for years while building up her small business at the time.
Years later, on Christmas 2 years ago, she told us their story. At the end, she added that if they hadn't been found out by their parents, they would have been together and survived today, where they could have freely expressed themselves without fear of being found. She would have had a peaceful life with the one she loved.
She and her friend passed away last year, only a few days apart.
This is dedicated to the both of them.
Her beauty endangers my beliefs
But rectifies my overwhelming grief
I've longed for a while to be released
And now with her, I feel at ease
She answers at a moment's notice
Warm to touch and sweet to kiss
Her presence is calming alone
That I forget the abuse at home
I caress her hair while she just observes
The vibrations I feel calm my nerves
Her smile sets my heart aflame
Knowing nothing in my life will ever be the same
But as I am a woman in love with her
This may prove to be so much harder
To suppress our feelings from the public eye
Especially in the streets of year 1955
You may think we might have been found
Shunned when the secret had been unwound
But this is a story of peace, not fear
I happily report to you, we survived for years
Now over 70 years later
This thing we have is accepted all over
We even have flags to wave around in celebration
And a month just for us to feel this gratification
Times have now truly changed
People's mindset have been rearranged
No more justifying job overtimes to avoid stigma
Or holding hands under arm rests in dimmed cinemas
We've been freed of the thing we had feared
Even if I only get to enjoy it with her for a few years
They say a secret never stays secret
But just look at the moments we've spent
There we're close calls, a few only
But we still made it, haven't we?
I'm still grateful for all those times we shared
Although hidden from anyone's disgusted stare
People got to see how much we love each other
Bombarded with amazement at what we had endured
I had survived her, but nonetheless I feel at ease
Knowing we got to enjoy a few moments of peace
