http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Even in countries like the UK that now permit gay marriage, coming out is not necessarily easy, especially to people close to us who think they know us through and through but to whom it has never occurred we might be gay. Now, coming out may or may not be tough on us, but we should always remember it can be tough on family, friends and colleagues. too, so we may well need to give them time to get used to the idea, not automatically feel rejected and misunderstood simply because they don’t always react positively at first. Religious-minded people, especially, often find it hard to accept the existence of a ' gay gene' that is passed on from generation to generation, sometimes missing a few but invariably resurfacing eventually.
Now, I never give advice, but will always give an opinion if asked. Only (very) recently, a reader e-mailed to say he cannot live without his (closet) boyfriend but neither can he face being openly gay. What should he do? Well, no one can make that decision for him, but hopefully, today’s poem might help him to make up his mind and acknowledge where his heart lies.
HOMING IN ON PRIORITIES
He said we must part
because I would not come out
of my safe (if scary) closet and say
this is me, I am gay
I was afraid of exposing
my all to the world’s stark light,
laying myself open to sentiments
parading its ignorance
I should ignore the bigots
he would say and I had to agree,
but even our passion fuelled my fears
fed on unshed tears
At the parting of our ways,
I cried and begged him to reconsider
the only demand you ever made of me,
no more closet sexuality
He kissed me goodbye
and walked away, leaving me alone
to endure a dark, so-cold pit of misery,
all my senses numbing
I tried to hate you for that,
but rage never (really) stood a chance
against needing to love, be loved in turn,
reconcile with being born
So I told the world I’m gay,
not (quite) as hard as I had imagined
at the moment I contrived that we’d meet,
and kissed you in the street
Now, we share words of love
anyone might overhear, and respond
for good, bad, or not at all... so who cares?
Not our problem, but theirs
Copyright R. N. Taber 2015
Even in countries like the UK that now permit gay marriage, coming out is not necessarily easy, especially to people close to us who think they know us through and through but to whom it has never occurred we might be gay. Now, coming out may or may not be tough on us, but we should always remember it can be tough on family, friends and colleagues. too, so we may well need to give them time to get used to the idea, not automatically feel rejected and misunderstood simply because they don’t always react positively at first. Religious-minded people, especially, often find it hard to accept the existence of a ' gay gene' that is passed on from generation to generation, sometimes missing a few but invariably resurfacing eventually.
Now, I never give advice, but will always give an opinion if asked. Only (very) recently, a reader e-mailed to say he cannot live without his (closet) boyfriend but neither can he face being openly gay. What should he do? Well, no one can make that decision for him, but hopefully, today’s poem might help him to make up his mind and acknowledge where his heart lies.
[Photo taken from the Internet]
HOMING IN ON PRIORITIES
He said we must part
because I would not come out
of my safe (if scary) closet and say
this is me, I am gay
I was afraid of exposing
my all to the world’s stark light,
laying myself open to sentiments
parading its ignorance
I should ignore the bigots
he would say and I had to agree,
but even our passion fuelled my fears
fed on unshed tears
At the parting of our ways,
I cried and begged him to reconsider
the only demand you ever made of me,
no more closet sexuality
He kissed me goodbye
and walked away, leaving me alone
to endure a dark, so-cold pit of misery,
all my senses numbing
I tried to hate you for that,
but rage never (really) stood a chance
against needing to love, be loved in turn,
reconcile with being born
So I told the world I’m gay,
not (quite) as hard as I had imagined
at the moment I contrived that we’d meet,
and kissed you in the street
Now, we share words of love
anyone might overhear, and respond
for good, bad, or not at all... so who cares?
Not our problem, but theirs
Copyright R. N. Taber 2015
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