In a multicultural society, I
have inevitably met gay men and women who feel they cannot be openly gay
because the culture in which they remain entrenched is intrinsically
homophobic. At the same time, I have also met many who have, in all conscience,
acknowledged to themselves and the world that they are gay and remain determined
to be true to their nature, often without turning their backs on their
socio-cultural-religious history even where family and/or peers see being gay
as a betrayal of all they have been taught to hold dear, and gay people
outcasts.
To the less tolerant I can but ask, should we not cherish those we profess to love above all else, give peace
and love a chance…?
Whatever, the old saying that all roads lead to Rome is misleading in so far as it is up to each and everyone of us which paths we take in life and where that path takes us, whatever or colour, creed, sex or sexuality. We are individuals and need to find a way to shrug off would-be manipulative forces, invariably practised by those who mean well and think they know what is best for us, but haven't a clue, not least because they are directing us in a direction they would take, failing to appreciate that we are all different and, yes, have minds of our own.
The greater human tragedy is that where we are (too) often judged and misjudged simply for being ourselves, divisions become chasms everyone yearns to cross but (too) many people have no idea how. Sexuality is but one catalyst for chasms of course. Bridges are there for anyone to cross if they so chooses; it is just a question of love, and putting it first instead of letting it come a poor second to ego and its associated preconceptions, most if not all of which are inclined to wreck rather than build (let alone cross) any bridges.
Whatever, the old saying that all roads lead to Rome is misleading in so far as it is up to each and everyone of us which paths we take in life and where that path takes us, whatever or colour, creed, sex or sexuality. We are individuals and need to find a way to shrug off would-be manipulative forces, invariably practised by those who mean well and think they know what is best for us, but haven't a clue, not least because they are directing us in a direction they would take, failing to appreciate that we are all different and, yes, have minds of our own.
The greater human tragedy is that where we are (too) often judged and misjudged simply for being ourselves, divisions become chasms everyone yearns to cross but (too) many people have no idea how. Sexuality is but one catalyst for chasms of course. Bridges are there for anyone to cross if they so chooses; it is just a question of love, and putting it first instead of letting it come a poor second to ego and its associated preconceptions, most if not all of which are inclined to wreck rather than build (let alone cross) any bridges.
A MIND OF ONE’S OWN
Pausing at a bar, watching
lots of gay people having (such)
fun,
long to join in, but cannot
see
any way to confessing that I
am gay,
leaving my gloomy closet
Walking away in the rain,
at a frantic pace, no place
to go
where I can relax, feel free
to really be myself, no
invisible person
on a cold closet shelf
Soaking wet, don’t give a
damn,
nature lashing out for the
coward
I am, the gamut I’ll not
chance,
to run, demanding I reclaim mind, body,
and spirit for my own
How can I let people down,
betray expectations of me inscribed
on tablets of stone from birth
to death if only because that’s the way
it has always been…?
Not simple at all, a complex
web of political history and culture,
bottling up human nature
for select distribution, claiming a cure-all
and calling it religion
Yes, I am gay, but not sick
or some sinner needing to repent,
and why should any God
have us deny any part of a whole they say
He created, who revile us?
Returning to the bar,
watching
lots of gay people having such
fun,
and join them, determined
to get a life (no matter
what) not die alone
in a cold, gloomy closet
Copyright R. N. Taber 2015
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