I once
had a friend who became a heroin addict in his late teens and died from an
overdose in 1967.
My friend was 22 and happened to be gay, but drug abuse is a tragedy
for too many young people – gay, straight, male, female, from all kinds of
backgrounds - and there is still too little help available. To be honest, I was
more than a little in love with him although he only ever saw me as a friend.
I still dream about him sometimes, and felt compelled to write this poem if only in remembrance of a great guy
who took a wrong turning and was found lying in a gutter one day ...
I have
known (and still do) people to whom taking hard drugs is socially acceptable, a
trait encouraged by a drugs-friendly celebrity culture frequently in the media
spotlight and setting an appalling example.
BETWEEN FRIENDS or SHADES OF LIGHT AND DARK
Under a
halo of sudden light
a
familiar figure beckons;
looks,
sure to win the Devil over;
designer
gear any angel would give
their
wings for
Laugher
lines in the classic brow,
enigmatic
poise teasing me
even now as
into the clinging dew,
I run
barefoot,
hug anew
this pouting saint
to a
sobbing breast…
Laughter,
through tears for years parted,
brokenhearted…
Catching
my breath, no nearer it seems
to this
golden haired god
in jeans
I’ve borrowed times before,
reaching out
a hand,
indulging
me a bitter-sweet smile
that
means so much I’d give my all
to touch…
Lark into
dawn skies, vanished;
a
bitter-sweet song,
no
listener (ever) left unpunished;
lives as
fresh and hopeful as spring rain
till you
tried heroin
Copyright R. N. Taber 1974, 2000
Copyright R. N. Taber 1974, 2000
[From: Love
and Human Remains (under the title, Between Friends) by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2000]
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