I-d-e-n-t-i-t-y, Parts of a Whole

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I wrote the poem below because, while I am proud of being an openly gay man, I get fed-up with people homing in on my sexuality as if that's all there is to me; others have said much the same thing to me.It should be obvious, but apparently not to some people, that there is more to anyone than their  sexuality or gender.

I posted the poem on my general poetry blog back in May this year because most such offenders are straight. However, a reader who says he enjoys both blogs has contacted me to point out that many gay people are similarly guilty:"I am gay, but I enjoy good company, gay or straight, yet am often criticised by gay friends for this. Yet, why not? All my straight friends are gay-friendly, and among the first to have a go at anyone for being otherwise. Me, I'm a straight-friendly gay man, and why not?"

Why not, indeed? We are a common humanity, a diverse one at that, and we all have much to learn from those parts that make up its better, kinder, stronger whole; it is, after all, the whole that counts

This poem is a kenning.

I-D-E-N-T-I-T-Y, PARTS OF A WHOLE

I am Mind, part of a whole

bent on solving crises,

finding ways to neatly avoid

the slings and arrows

of human nature, rise above

even its worst flaws.

look on the bright side of life,

through thick and thin, stay true

to a kinder philosophy

I am Body, part of a whole

whose every heartbeat

is listening out for like souls

made to run the gamut

of prejudice, discrimination,

and, yes, even worse,

finding solace in those sins

certain world creeds and cultures

oh, so love to hit out at

I am Spirit, part of a whole

where personal space

provides the ‘live’ poetry of peace

and love insisting Mind

and Body direct the inner eye

where it needs must go

to avoid jumping to conclusions

comprising circumstantial evidence

provided by stereotypes

I am Mind-Body-Spirit, the person

often dissected for being human

 Copyright R. N. Taber 2019