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}