http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Some years ago, I met up with a long-time acquaintance who had just lost his partner of many years to a (much) younger model. He was in pieces, and we spent some time over a few beers, mostly complaining about the fickleness of human nature.
About six months later, we met up again. This time, he was far more positive about life and even had a sprightly spring in his step. “I went for a walk in the countryside one day, and had an epiphany,” he told me. “Nature is as nature does, for better or worse. Now, the worst does not necessarily rule out the better so there is always something (or someone) to look forward to, whatever the circumstances. It’s obvious, really, but I couldn’t see the wood for the trees. We have to stay positive, young Roger.” [I was in my early 50’s at the time and he would have been in his mid-70’s.]
'Death has a thousand doors to let out life: I shall find one.' - Philip Massinger, English dramatist, 1583 –1640
PLACING THE 'I' IN HUMANITY or OPENING UP TO NATURE
All doors closed on me
when you left me for another,
plunged into a lonely dark,
harder to bear than any closet
for having found and lost
a raison d’être in you, creating
joy out of sad dreams
Some said it was just deserts
for being openly gay in a world
where (yes, even these days)
gay people are seen as betraying
a native heterosexual ethos,
compensating for our weaknesses
by demanding equality
All doors closed on me
as love stabbed me in the heart
and left my remains to rot
in an open coffin of everyday life,
existence no more or less
than the stream of consciousness
credited an android
In spring, I walked woods
where bluebells nodded knowingly
for understanding my pain,
rabbits darting frantically here,
there, and everywhere,
seemingly with little more purpose
than random thoughts
I would have closed my ears
to birds singing sweet songs in trees
whose new leaves asked
no more or less than my eyes open
to the potential of rebirth
in a world where life is not measured
out in silver teaspoons
Having found an open door,
I felt a faint heartbeat grow stronger,
body, mind, and spirit
coming together like a jigsaw puzzle
until just one piece missing,
and that mattered less than my resolve
to find it and complete me
Copyright R. N. Taber 2016
Some years ago, I met up with a long-time acquaintance who had just lost his partner of many years to a (much) younger model. He was in pieces, and we spent some time over a few beers, mostly complaining about the fickleness of human nature.
About six months later, we met up again. This time, he was far more positive about life and even had a sprightly spring in his step. “I went for a walk in the countryside one day, and had an epiphany,” he told me. “Nature is as nature does, for better or worse. Now, the worst does not necessarily rule out the better so there is always something (or someone) to look forward to, whatever the circumstances. It’s obvious, really, but I couldn’t see the wood for the trees. We have to stay positive, young Roger.” [I was in my early 50’s at the time and he would have been in his mid-70’s.]
'Death has a thousand doors to let out life: I shall find one.' - Philip Massinger, English dramatist, 1583 –1640
Philip Massinger, copper-engraving portrait by Charles Grignion the Elder (Wikipedia)
PLACING THE 'I' IN HUMANITY or OPENING UP TO NATURE
All doors closed on me
when you left me for another,
plunged into a lonely dark,
harder to bear than any closet
for having found and lost
a raison d’être in you, creating
joy out of sad dreams
Some said it was just deserts
for being openly gay in a world
where (yes, even these days)
gay people are seen as betraying
a native heterosexual ethos,
compensating for our weaknesses
by demanding equality
All doors closed on me
as love stabbed me in the heart
and left my remains to rot
in an open coffin of everyday life,
existence no more or less
than the stream of consciousness
credited an android
In spring, I walked woods
where bluebells nodded knowingly
for understanding my pain,
rabbits darting frantically here,
there, and everywhere,
seemingly with little more purpose
than random thoughts
I would have closed my ears
to birds singing sweet songs in trees
whose new leaves asked
no more or less than my eyes open
to the potential of rebirth
in a world where life is not measured
out in silver teaspoons
Having found an open door,
I felt a faint heartbeat grow stronger,
body, mind, and spirit
coming together like a jigsaw puzzle
until just one piece missing,
and that mattered less than my resolve
to find it and complete me
Copyright R. N. Taber 2016
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