Versification Entries 2023: A Poetry Competition

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PENALTY

Is this the penalty I get for living
With someone to whom my love I'm giving?

We walk hand-in-hand down the street
And get outraged looks from all we meet.

We deserve to love out in the open
But they're bent on our souls being broken.

It's not a crime to love who you want.
We're not here for you to mock and taunt.

I love this person, that can't be denied.
So why should I have to be penalised?