http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
I can’t
imagine why a homophobic cleric is reading the blog but someone called
‘Disgusted’ has been in touch about Tuesday’s poem. He says it is a sin to
‘glorify’ the human body and ‘outrageous’ to suggest any sense of spirituality
can be derived from sex. He deplores my posting poems like Body Beautiful which only proves his point that the Internet is a
‘corrupt influence.’ Even so, he kindly adds that he enjoys many of my ‘more
conventional' poems and recommends that I ‘get help' with my homosexuality.
How can I
answer that but with another ‘corrupt’ (?!) poem...? He has every right to
insist on his point of view, of course, but so do I...
How can anyone
in their right mind insist a poem is a corrupt influence because it celebrates
the human body? A for sex, isn't that is a celebration of the human body too? Why shouldn't anyone - gay or straight - find it an intensely spiritual as well as a delightfully physical experience?
ICON
An enigmatic air, rippling muscles,
head like
a young god’s cast in bronze
but knowingly, as if aware of a breeze
in
close-cropped curls whisking us
to some fantasy
isle, we its castaways,
partners
in paradise, no one crowding us,
fat
chance, rescue
Eyes as
sharp as thorns on any rose,
of
vulnerability, some pigeons nearby
reciting
poetry not meant for human ears;
two loud,
tipsy youths try to muscle in
on our
privacy, but reckoning without
divine
intervention from a god on salary,
up for
whatever
Mouth
moves with the same alacrity
as hands
and feet, divinity momentarily
suspended,
as the youths demand entry;
harsh
words and a strong arm soon sends
them
packing, enigmatic air resumed,
classic
Rodin immortalised on my phone
for quick
reference whenever I find myself
in need
of a pick-me-up
Copyright
R. N. Taber 2004; 2019
[Note: An
earlier version of this poem appears in The Third Eye by R.
N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2004.]
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