I hadn’t intended to write a poem for the winter solstice even though it happens to fall on my birthday. [I am 66 years-old today...oo-err!] However, ‘Joel from somewhere in the universe’ has asked me to write something for his grandpa whose eightieth birthday is also today. It seems that Joel’s granddad is from Greece originally, but hasn’t lived there for years, and came out in 1991 when he was sixty.
Oh, but it’s just as the old adage goes; it’s never too late to get a life.
Congratulations go to grandpa and partner, and many thanks to Joel for getting in touch. I have tried to open up the poem so it is not only the likes of Joel’s grandpa that can relate to it.
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This poem is a villanelle.
APOLLO IN WINTER or CUE FOR AN ARMISTICE
Risen one winter solstice,
in the firing line of ungodly bigotry,
forever proposing an armistice
As vulnerable to distress
as wintry hearts a summer memory;
risen one winter solstice
Driven close to The Abyss,
never giving ground on a spirituality
forever proposing an armistice
Savouring freedom in openness,
nurturing every seedling to maturity;
risen one winter solstice
Resilient if tearful under duress;
among shades of awakening sexuality,
forever proposing an armistice
No lack of strategies for peace,
despite a warring twenty-first century;
risen one winter solstice,
forever proposing an armistice
London: Dec 21st 2011
Copyright R. N. Taber 2011
[Note: According to Greek mythology, Apollo, the sun god, was bisexual, but had a special preference for male companionship, and more ...]
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