http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
I
was drinking in a bar with a few gay friends once and a BIG guy called out,
‘Hey, shirt lifters. Do us all a favour and drop dead, yeah?’
Suffice
to say we not only didn’t comply, but also stayed on for another round of beers
even though we had intended to leave.
He
strutted over to our table and jabbed a finger at me. ‘Hey, you,’ he shouted,
‘Are you deaf or something?’
I
pointed to my hearing aids. ‘As a matter of fact, yes, I am. Do you have a
problem with that?’
‘Not
that, the other thing...,’ he
sneered.
‘Sorry
mate,’ I said in all seriousness, ‘I’ve only got two ears. Maybe you’re a bit
drunk and seeing things, eh? I can do
you a third leg though...’
The
whole pub exploded with laughter and the blushing homophobe retreated to rejoin
his mates.
Some
of you may have read a recent post that related an encounter I had once with a
poetry lover who could not see why any ‘serious’ poet would want to write a
villanelle - or any other poetic form - on a gay theme. Well, if being a
‘serious’ poet means being selective
about what themes should be taken seriously, it is probably just as well I’m
only a poet.
This
poem is (oh, yes!) a villanelle.
STAYING
THE COURSE
Gay
folks won’t run away,
though
some prefer we leave;
be sure, we’re
here to stay
Let
bigots have their say
(worn
clichés up the sleeve);
gay
folks won’t run away
Born,
come what may,
to
laugh, cheer, love, grieve,
be sure, we’re
here to stay
Let
pious pretenders pray
who refuse
to live and let live;
gay
folks won’t run away
Where cultures
prey,
they only
themselves deceive;
be sure, we’re
here to stay
Let
history seize the day,
and its
worst fake news believe;
gay
folks won’t run away;
be sure, we’re
here to stay
Copyright R.N. Taber 2010
[Note: an earlier version of this poems appears in On the Battlefields of Love by R. N
Taber,Assembly Books, 2010]
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