Gay Gets Real

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Even in the West, being openly gay is not as easy as some people try to make out; in other parts of the world it remains at best a taboo subject, at worst a criminal offence that can lead to incarceration in prison or worse.

Much depends on whether or not we grow up in a gay-friendly environment; a supportive network of family and friends can male all the difference. Sadly, not all gay people (could be anyone, anywhere) are fortunate to have this.

There are still far too many misleading and offensive stereotypes flying around that persist in attaching themselves to less enlightened minds among the heterosexual majority. We have come a long way since the dark days of my youth, but there is still much to do before being gay no longer has no stigma whatever attached to it in anyone’s mind.

Meanwhile, the more open we can be about the gay ethic and the fewer people that prefer not to stand up and be counted (for whatever reason)...so much the better for everyone.

GAY GETS REAL

I was but a moving image,

all substance gone,

yet convincing enough to pass

for a whole person;

my mouth let fly with words

for unperceptive ears,

limbs in sufficiently good order

for most labours

People looked into my eyes

and saw what they chose,

invariably a misplaced metaphor

for themselves;

beyond a conditioned will

to live up to its name,

my humanity was but a virtual

ploy in a computer game

Even when I discovered love

and found my own way

in life, it screwed up the works

for being gay…

or so I was told by webmasters

vying for my attentions,

but I’d escaped virtual mode,

ignored their directions

No longer a moving image,

all substance restored,

I see, smell, hear, speak, relate

to the world…

for all its frailties and failures,

and comprehend

how learning from its strengths

matters most in the end

[From: On the Battlefields of Love by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010]