Dare to Love

He remembers at fourteen.
He knew what he wanted.
He wanted a man; no psychiatry,
Just to be held to be told it was alright.
All he got was a hospital bed
And some pills to sleep at night.
In his mind were images so divine,
But in his life it was a hell of a time.

They locked him away
Because he dared to love
A boy with a mind of his own.

He wonders if anyone
Has ever heard of him.
They kicked in the door,
Acting like there was
Some kind of murder going on.
Made their love seem dirty;
Called him sick; called him queer.
The law was against him.
He was twenty-five, his lover sixteen;
Couldn't believe it was happening.
It seemed so unreal,
But a cell, twelve by eight,
Made it all so very real.

They locked him away
Because he dared to love
A boy with a mind of his own.
He loved a boy with a mind of his own.

Where is the crime? Where is the crime in love?
He loved a boy with a mind of his own.
They locked him away
Because he dared to love
A boy with a mind of his own.