http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Today's poem has appeared on the blog before, but is repeated again today especially for 'Ivor' and 'Colleen', two gay people who have been in touch to say it helped reinforce a tenuous hold on their respective religions after being rejected by their local religious communities for being gay.
Now, regular readers will know that I subscribe to no religion, but find spiritual relief and inspiration in nature where religion offers me only division and bigotry. Even so, I will always defend anyone’s right to follow the religion of their choice regardless of colour, sex or sexuality.
So-called religious people who practice any form of socio-cultural-religious bigotry are a disgrace to their religion and its founders as far as I’m concerned. I have even said so on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrTjc2373IU
GOING TO MEET THE MAN or GOD IS NO HOMOPHOBE
A young man went to heaven,
and knocked at the door;
an angel came, looked him over,
told him he’d have to wait
a wee longer. A second angel arrived,
carrying the Book, stood there,
scratched his head, gave the poor lad
a hard, old-fashioned look.
When yet a third angel came to see
whatever could the matter be,
the youth managed to say,
‘Is there a problem ’cause I’m gay?’
The angels muttered piously,
‘Know, truth will have its way.’
The young man broke down
and turned to leave when Someone
took him, oh, so gently
by the sleeve, reminding loud
and clear...
"Who seeks shall enter."
Copyright R. N. Taber 2002; 2010
[Note: Slightly revised (2010) from an earlier version that appears in First Person Plural by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2002 and other poetry publications. Oh, and yes, the poem takes its title from a wonderful novel by that outstanding writer, James Baldwin.]
Today's poem has appeared on the blog before, but is repeated again today especially for 'Ivor' and 'Colleen', two gay people who have been in touch to say it helped reinforce a tenuous hold on their respective religions after being rejected by their local religious communities for being gay.
Now, regular readers will know that I subscribe to no religion, but find spiritual relief and inspiration in nature where religion offers me only division and bigotry. Even so, I will always defend anyone’s right to follow the religion of their choice regardless of colour, sex or sexuality.
So-called religious people who practice any form of socio-cultural-religious bigotry are a disgrace to their religion and its founders as far as I’m concerned. I have even said so on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrTjc2373IU
GOING TO MEET THE MAN or GOD IS NO HOMOPHOBE
A young man went to heaven,
and knocked at the door;
an angel came, looked him over,
told him he’d have to wait
a wee longer. A second angel arrived,
carrying the Book, stood there,
scratched his head, gave the poor lad
a hard, old-fashioned look.
When yet a third angel came to see
whatever could the matter be,
the youth managed to say,
‘Is there a problem ’cause I’m gay?’
The angels muttered piously,
‘Know, truth will have its way.’
The young man broke down
and turned to leave when Someone
took him, oh, so gently
by the sleeve, reminding loud
and clear...
"Who seeks shall enter."
Copyright R. N. Taber 2002; 2010
[Note: Slightly revised (2010) from an earlier version that appears in First Person Plural by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2002 and other poetry publications. Oh, and yes, the poem takes its title from a wonderful novel by that outstanding writer, James Baldwin.]
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