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
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