Table Talk

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

Whenever it is Gay Pride Day in London, those of us unable to join the march and celebrations for one reason or another will be there in spirit, glad for UK society’s (generally) acknowledging Gay Rights; hopeful, too, that those societies where bigotry, in any shape or form, continues to have the upper hand, may yet learn to respect the fact that we all share a common humanity, and humanity turns on peace and love not socio-cultural-religious prejudices.

TABLE TALK

My love and I sit at a table
toasting us in red wine,
pledging peace in our time

My love and I sit at a table
laughing over bad jokes,
enjoying this quality time

My love and I sit at a table
reliving the bad times,
society pandering to bigotry

My love and I sit at a table
remembering gay folks
denied quality time together

My love and I sit at a table,
haunted by times past,
bigots refusing to move on

My love and I sit at a table,
always making the most
of any quality time together

My love and I sit at a table
toasting us in red wine,
pledging peace in our time

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010

Sunbather

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Apollo, the sun god of mythology was reputed to be bisexual. Perhaps that is why (for anyone, gay or straight) basking in some everlasting summer of love is much like basking in the sun under blue skies, not a cloud on the horizon. As for any rain clouds that might happen along…out of sight, out of mind in a world where it is probably only love that keeps us going, inspires us to rise out its worst storms and convinces us things can only get better…

Photo: Super Paradise (gay-friendly) Beach, Greece

THE SUNBATHER

I have loved your body

as a sunbather, the glowing sun,

letting its heat take me in,

as a kind person might a stranger

enduring hard times ...

I have loved your body

as a weary pilgrim, the sun’s rays

licking at the flesh,

as a child eye might someone else's

ice cream cone

I have loved your body

as a small child, lost and found,

will enjoy embraces,

or a lonely person the homely smile

of a passer-by ...

I have loved your body

much as someone making their way

in a misshapen world

finds inspiration in experiences

of its finer arts

I have loved your body

much as a sunbather, the glowing sun,

letting its heat take me in

where we are shown each other

as we are ... 

I have loved your body

much as a small child, lost and found,

welcomes peace of mind

as a gay person might the goodwill

of a cleric

I have loved your body

as someone making their way

in a divisive world

takes inspiration from a gay ethic

over centuries ...

I have loved your body

as a shadow at the edge of time

slipping into the light,

left in peace to create the landscape

of eternity

Copyright R. N. Taber 2014

A Summer Storm

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Every relationship has its ups and downs; gay relationships are no different from any other. Such is life, love, and human nature...

A SUMMER STORM 

Spirit as heavy

as clouds hanging

dark and low;

body struck dumb

by lightning flashes

of disillusion

Rain on the face

reminiscent of tears

for a world all but 

giving up on us,

and my storming off

without a word

Your kisses, honey

on the tongue of one

who’s like a bee

looking to the hive

for reasons to weather

a summer storm

Heading for home,

wretched, frightened…

Suddenly, sunshine,

birds singing, a world

shouting joyfully if only

because it can

I see you waiting

on the step, drenched,

shoulders hunched;

Storm over, still raining,

but ready to pull together

for a new beginning

Time enough later

for questions, answers,

and finding words…

For now, seeing nature

working its magic for us,

we gay lovers

Copyright R. N .Taber 2001; 2014

[Note: An earlier version of this poem first appeared in an anthology, In the Summertime, Poetry Now (Forward Press), 2001 and subsequently in  First Person Plural by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2002.]

Taking on the Bogeyman

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As a child, I was taught to despise gay people. As a gay youth, and young man I learned (the hard way) to respect and feel good about myself.

It is only now, in my late 60s, that I can forgive the bigots for the torment they put me though. They were, for the most part, products of their generation.

What I cannot forgive, though, is that leading bigots worldwide are still putting gay men and women through the same torment. Is it not high time the civilized world got real about the deeper meaning of ‘civilized’ instead of scratching the surface?

Certainly, it is a harsh indictment on the 21st century so far that it continues to let these pathetic, spiritually unenlightened people who hide behind various socio-cultural-religious masks (likely to be seen by the even less enlightened as the respectable face of morality) continue to get away with corrupting humanity. Let these Bogeymen that have haunted generations stay under the bed, gather dust (and hopefully choke on it) while we sleep in peace, wake refreshed, ready willing and able to take on his like  whenever and wherever in the cold light of day...

Yes, we can point the finger at economic, political and religious culpability and plenty of it. But even if the sorry state of our world is down to such issues, humanity isn’t. Humanity is down to each and every one of us.

Whatever a person's colour, creed, sex or sexuality, no one is too small in the grand design of things to make a difference for the better (or too big to avoid comeuppance).

TAKING ON THE BOGEYMAN

I may well be your jailer,

keeping you prisoner of your skin,

making sure you dare not

let truth, hope and peace enter in

where even few angels will go

taught to know that God

would have them keep

well clear or become infected

with doubt and fear

You may well see me

as a mirror to all you are not

and all you would be…

but for the Bogey Man still peering

over your shoulder,

poised to leap on you before I’ve

even begun to make a case

in defence of truth hope and peace

deserving justice

Think of me as a friend,

at your side through thick and thin,

making sure you’ll not refuse

to let truth, hope and peace enter in

wherever you choose to go,

unafraid to let the world know

you refuse to be a prisoner

of its second skin, but chose to show

bigotry cannot win

See sexuality take on the Bogey Man

or mistake his reflection for your own

Copyright R. N. Taber 2014

Director's Cut OR Feeding Imagination in 3D Stereo Surround

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I don’t know about you but some movies (especially gay movies) have had me wriggling in my seat...with more than just wishful thinking...!

DIRECTOR’S CUT or FEEDING IMAGINATION IN 3D STEREO SURROUND

A heat’s on, dripping

from the screen; sweet seduction,

as a celluloid carnality

slips into sub-reality mode,

sure to get under the skin

of what passes for conventional

identity

Brushing a stranger’s thighs

in a hard seat, weaving dangerous lies,

in a cold sweat…

Movie lovers doing okay, 

their wonders to perform, overt sexuality

turning blue buffs on before and after

the lights go down;

Day returns to Babylon

outside office hours; madding crowd

booking into film theatres

(alias Smith and Jones) always up

for the best lines,

leading roles, directing the action, 

soul for soul

Close shot: penetration,

ecstasy (love’s rolling stone)

Beautiful people, amen.

Small sacrifice, a tell-tale stain

on integrity’s underwear

(will clean) - Cinema’s jest,

illusion

Copyright R. N. Taber 2000; rev. 2013

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in  Love and Human Remains by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2001.]

Images of Love or G-A-Y, Telling it as It Is (and Why Not?)

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

Readers often comment that many of my love poems could be written for anyone, whether gay or heterosexual. That is precisely the point I am making and why I include poems on a gay theme in general collections rather than publish them separately.

We all want to love and be loved; it is (surely?) the same for us all, worldwide, regardless of our colour, creed, sex, or sexuality...

If I were to comment along those lines in some countries (Uganda, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia to name but a few) I would probably be imprisoned or even executed. In a predominantly gay-friendly West, we should never forget that when we take holidays abroad. Similarly, people from those countries living or visiting here have no right to attack our way of life. As for me, I would never visit a country where attitudes and/or laws regarding same sex relationships are ignorant and offensive or where other Human Rights abuses are commonplace.

We have always had socio-cultural-religious homophobes here in the UK, too, of course; their numbers continue to increase significantly, and will continue to do so all the while the efforts of successive governments to embrace multiculturalism are as ill-conceived and poorly judged as they have been from the start.

Call me naive if you like, but I will never understand why the act of recognizing a person’s Human Rights is often considered ‘liberal’ rather than simply humane since not to do so has to be one of the worst forms of inhumanity. It is even worse still when holier-than-thou types hide behind their religion, whatever it may be. Religion is a faith, not an excuse for bigotry. Religious bigots are not only letting themselves down but also their religion. The main reason I rejected religion long ago (years before I realized I am gay) is its bigotry or, rather, the bigoted interpretation so many religious leaders and their followers choose to give to various Holy Books.

Oh, but enough of division and bigotry, and let's get back to love.

IMAGES OF LOVE or  G-A-Y, TELLING IT AS IT IS (AND WHY NOT?) 

I sought and hoped to find you,

elusive though you were;

Each night I’d dream about you,

though your image a blur;

I’d reach out to you with heart

and soul, achieve my goal,

only for the cold light of day

to expose as nothing more

than wishful thinking, hope

without real foundation,

figment of a child’s imagination,

a comfort in escaping

now and then from the daily toil

of trying to survive a growing

desperation, find a way

to live, compatible with, oh, such

longing, such need

On images of love, we feed

Each night I dream of you still,

your image strong and true;

I reach out to you with heart

and soul, achieve my goal;

when day breaks up my reverie,

I retrieve all the pieces,

cherishing a reality that makes

my own parts complete,

savouring the warmth of you

since last we embraced,

recalling, vividly, every detail

in your face, every nuance

of our being together even when

apart, once-lonely hearts

of love and peace assured,

a life compatible with, oh, such

longing, such need

On images of love, agreed

[From: The Third Eye by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2003}

A Summer Place

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

We do not have to make love to be intimate with its finer feelings although there is no disputing (surely?) that lovers have a head start. 

As for the world’s gay lovers, what’s so different about being gay anyway? We are all but vulnerable human beings born to run the gamut of human nature since the beginning of time, and quite possibly way beyond it…

A SUMMER PLACE 

A wintry wind carries your voice

along nature’s highways and byways,

to bring me to that special place

where we can always be together 

and love each other

A wintry rain brings your kisses

to soak my body in as sweet a passion

as any romantics ever felt

who only ever wanted to be together

and love each other

A wintry sunshine teases me

and makes me laugh, as you always do,

creating smiles (no tears)

where joyful thoughts join us together

for loving each other

A wintry twilight embraces us,

one body, one spirit, a moment in time

created with carnal knowledge

of a life-force summoning worlds apart

to come together

No wintry darkness descending

can deprive us of summery days ahead

who are out, gay, and free

to go where we can always be together

and love each other

Copyright R. N. Taber 2012

Celebrating Sexuality

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

It has been a struggle for many of us gay men and women around the world to assert ourselves among an intrinsically homophobic heterosexual majority; for many others, the struggle continues while various socio-cultural-religious 'betters' continue to hound  as many of us as they can into a closet life by convincing them that homosexuality and transgender are an offence against the God of Love they profess to serve. 


I had decided by the time I was 14 years-old that not only was I gay, but also religion was not for me, and turned to Earth Mother. It was the right decision for me, but I would say to anyone in the worldwide LGBT community that religion and sexuality are not incompatible; over the years, it has been my pleasure and privilege to meet a significant number of religious people - of all faiths - who refuse to believe that any God of Love would turn His (or Her) back on anyone. It has also been my personal experience that many religious leaders will say one thing to the media and another to their congregations.
Gay, straight or transgender, our sexuality is an essential part of our whole identity; as I have said many times, it is the whole that counts. There is every cause to celebrate and feel confident about the contribution our sexuality makes to who we are.  (It is perhaps  worth noting that the vast majority of gay-friendly straight guys feel self-assured enough in their sexuality not to feel either hostile towards or threatened by gay men.)  

Those of us who have managed to rise above many of the problems imposed on us due to our sexuality have good cause to celebrate. Indeed, sexuality itself is cause for celebration since it is an integral part of who we are and everyone is entitled to celebrate his or her identity; our sexual identity is every bit as important as any sense of social, cultural, religious or political identity if not more so for its being a natural part of who we are as opposed to being driven by external forces which, more often than not, have ulterior motives.

CELEBRATING SEXUALITY 

Forget the lonely years

of coming to terms

with who we are and the pain

of ‘Coming Out’

Let’s celebrate

Love is a precious thing

(who can ever forget?)

nor the love of two gay people

any less so for that

Let’s celebrate

There will always be some

left failing to reason out

a gay person’s lot? - well, yes,

but so what?

Let’s celebrate

If life and love don’t

always work out

as we hope?  Well, life’s like that,

gay or straight

Let’s celebrate

Congratulations to gay men

and women everywhere,

nor bisexual or transgender folks

shall we forget

Let’s celebrate

Our sexuality does us proud,

and love is what life’s

all about, though sometimes

we come to it late

Let’s celebrate

What the heck? We are who

we are, and proud of it;

the world can take us or leave

us for that

Let’s celebrate

It’s so good to be - alive!

Let no one say different,

and if they do the chances are

they’re not…

Copyright R. N. Taber 2014

[Note: an earlier version of this poem appears in On the Battlefields of Love, by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010.]

Squaring up to Gargoyles

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Sadly, hostile forces in the world (mostly human) confront and would diminish if not defeat us at every turn. We can but square up to them and trust in the kinder qualities of nature and human nature to see us right. True, that trust will not always be justified; we can but hope…

Nor should we (gay or straight) ever underestimate the power of love to expose its adversaries for the disgrace to humanity that they are. Yes, including those (worldwide) who advocate and take cover behind certain socio-cultural-religious traditions by way of excuses.

To love, be sure true humanity will allow the final victory in mind and spirit if not always the body playing host at any given time…

SQUARING UP TO GARGOYLES 

Shoreline under siege, its conscience angrily

taking us to task

Storm clouds hanging low, seagulls screaming,

love demanding answers

Waves like gargoyles daring us run the gamut

of our passions

Ghosts, observing from heaven’s towers as we

repeat their mistakes

Humanity, demanding we honour its spiritual

obligations to love

Love, determined to spare its native spirituality

the temporal conventions

Conventions, egging us on, applause in the ears

like thunder

Wind, howling like hunting hounds homing in

for the kill

Can’t think or speak. Storm, a coffin lid poised

to slam shut

Suddenly, rays of watery moonlight clambering

over the dark’s ramparts

On battlefields of sea and shore, love’s coalition

forces converge on despair…

Wind and waves, rearing and roaring, gargoyles

given a make-over

No time to die, but love, a victory nature intends

for us all

Lovers, regardless of race, creed, sex or sexuality,

squaring up to gargoyles

Love, following a natural order eroding all history

my have chiselled in stone

Copyright Taber 2010; 2016

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in On the Battlefields of Love: poems by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010.]

A Working Relationship

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

As a rule, entering into a relationship with a work colleague is not a good idea.

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule, especially when you have desperately been trying to read someone’s body language for ages, and then...

A WORKING RELATIONSHIP

You brushed past me in a corridor

and I froze;

when I looked, you were looking too,

scratching your nose;

eyes firing questions at each other

found no answers

(none we cared to probe too closely);

we went our own ways

as we meant, although not quite,

for haunting each other’s

every move and thought for days

on end

Did I perhaps want you for a friend,

I kept asking myself?

(trying to put you out of my mind)

or was there more,

desire of another kind coursing me,

heating my blood,

pumping heart and pulse faster

than ever before?

I’d tell myself I had a fever that

would pass…

but it dogged my every footstep,

grew worse

You brushed past me in the corridor

on another occasion;

we paused, unsure how to establish

a reason;

you licked your lips and I licked mine,

tongues frozen,

alter egos debating our sexuality

head-on;

We shook hands. Your palm plied mine

with passion,

rhythm of your name exploding in me

like an orgasm

Colleagues, we still haunt the corridor;

lovers, afraid of ghosts no more

Copyright R. N. Taber 2008

Running with Dinosaurs

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Once, I had a boyfriend, Simon, who had only just got around to telling his family he is gay, and took a little longer to break it to them that I was the new boyfriend. Simon’s family was not exactly overjoyed, either with his being gay or my part in it all.  

It was all a long time ago and Simon has been with his partner for many years now. I see them now and then; they are very close. Both families attended their Civil Partnership two years ago.

Now, this may not be a particularly good poem, but I never could resist a happy ending…

RUNNING WITH DINOSAURS 

I so hate it that my son is gay,

a dad confided in me,

nor can I find the words to say

I’m ashamed of his sexuality

It’s just not true I love him less,

the same dad reassured me,

but nature didn’t provide an anus

to be used other than…naturally

I’ll love him whatever his choice,

this dad confided in me,

but you can’t expect me to rejoice

that he has a boyfriend, surely?

True love is unconditional, I said,

as good parents, siblings,

partners and friends take as read

above all things…

It’s easy enough for you to say,

the dad confided in me,

you don’t have a son who’s gay,

letting down the whole family

Of course I’m proud of the lad,

his dad reassured me,

and since he’s not turned out bad,

I know it’s thankful I should be

If families can’t see eye to eye,

this dad, a cleric, told me,

let’s hope and pray we’ll get by,

let live, love, and…sexuality

I took comfort from our discourse

that my boyfriend will be okay;

some dads may run with dinosaurs,

but love would win the day

Copyright R. N. Taber c1983

A Singular Take on Moon Shadows

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Whatever our ethnicity, creed, gender or sexuality, love does not discriminate. Moreover, its continuum across time and space contributes positively to our future, leaving the small-minded, ignorant, socio-cultural-religious bigots among behind for all their hue and cry…

I may speak as a gay man, but of course it isn't only gay people worldwide who are attacked for falling in love and leaping socio-cultural-religious trenches. We only have to look at the Sudan right now where a Muslim woman faces a barbaric death for falling in love with and marrying a Christian. Others, too, worldwide are persecuted for various socio-cultural-religious reasons. Whatever happened to civilisation...?

Now I well remember gazing into the night sky with my late partner many years ago. We were going through a rough patch at the time although our troubles were coming at us from outside not inside our relationship. ‘Hey, look, he cried, ‘The Old Man in the Moon is smiling. Well, he must be able to see what we can’t from all those light years away so I guess we should stop worrying, take each day as it comes and...be happy, yeah?'

I agreed, so we did, and we were during the short time we had together before he died. Even so, love never dies and we remain close.

A SINGULAR TAKE ON MOON SHADOWS

We lay, my gay love and I,

in craters of the moon,

watching satellites crash by,

guiding stars shot down;

of sanctuary, we saw no sign

for such as you and I,

and only craters of the moon

offered us even shelter

Saw the galaxy disintegrate

as The Old Man warned

humanity of tempting a fate

worse than Armageddon

save for we who shall remain

to dare live and let live,

give our all to starting over

in peace and love

In time, may all gay lovers lie

among craters of the moon,

guiding lights in a darker sky

than any heavens deserve,

on the killing fields of bigotry,

see politics and religion

surrender centuries of hypocrisy

to a common humanity

Gay lovers, see the Old Man smile

and go (for us) that extra mile

Copyright R. N. Taber 2008, rev. 2014