They told me not to wear such political t-shirts,
Or to hold your hand in the corridor.
And they acted as if one was an extension of the other,
Like you weren’t just somebody I adored.

They told me I would grow out of my anger,
That as I got older my ideology would change.
Now I’m sat in my flat making placards and banners
For another damn protest, on another damn day.

But my love
When the darkness
Taps me on my shoulders,
Like a weight dangled just above my collar bones,
You’re the life I have chosen,
You’re the love I was owed –
Heavy a stone.

They told me that my hair was against regulation,
I could sense their fear that I might look like a boy.
It was as if rebellion was the centre of my existence,
Never realised that I was just trying to find joy.

And my love
When the darkness
Taps me on my shoulders,
Like a weight dangled just above my collar bones,
You’re the life I have chosen,
You’re the love I was owed –
Heavy as a stone.
As a stone, as a stone.