http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
CLOSE TO NATURE
The nightingale sang on,
Trees began a chorale
An audience of stars
An owl flew overhead,
Darkness fell, and silence
It's the nightingale's song
Just when I don’t think I have
another poem in me, Earth Mother takes me by the hand and takes me
back through my life, good times
and bad, the former prevailing, landfall a human spirit refreshed, revived and
ready to take on anything life throws at it.
As a child, I had a strong affinity
with nature until I became aware of homophobia and its being seen as
'unnatural' by many, including my own family. I felt unhappy, guilty, confused
... you name it ...and spent years in a lonely closet. It took me awhile
to understand that being gay is not what but who I
am.
Finally, I understood that I was as
entitled as anyone else to feel close to nature. This realisation burst like a
beautiful flower in me and continues to do so, especially at times, now and then,
when I have doubts and start to wonder how my life might have panned out had I
not been gay. All I have to do then is meet a bigot's eye, feel the same flower
burst anew in me, and if they cannot see it for their own narrow mindedness,
the more fool them. We are a common humanity, whatever our gender, sexuality,
ethnicity, religion ... and the sooner more people see how our differences do
not make us different, only human ... the sooner peace in every corner of
the world really stands a chance.
CLOSE TO NATURE
As I walked in a wood
at twilight, a nightingale sang
to me of days gone by,
and I found myself recalling
that first time I told the world
I’m gay, and that’s how it is,
accept or reject me, your choice,
my life
The nightingale sang on,
about the good times and bad
such as everyone gets
to know (be they gay or straight)
so why the big deal
with sexuality? No harm done,
and bigotry doesn’t get to control
my life
Trees began a chorale
of love and peace as a sunset
pinked the sky,
and I found myself recalling
with a heavy heart
how we let prejudice and dogma
have their way with us, promising
a ‘better’ life
An audience of stars
watched as I wound my way
through the wood,
siding with me as I took my past
to task for a present
that only (ever) left me needing
to feel there had to be a kinder way
of life
An owl flew overhead,
hooting its applause, all nature
(or so it seemed)
thrilled for my having turned away
narrow thoughts
and judgemental jibes, consented
to the sum of my selves demanding
a life
Darkness fell, and silence
no less bitter-sweet than a sense
of being alone
in a magical world where positives
cast long shadows
and negatives are as moonlight
on leaves of grass prettily
lamenting
a life
It's the nightingale's song
re-awakes in me a stronger sense
of being at one
with a natural world where positives
shine brighter even
than sunlight, negatives best left
to shadows as we let reality shape
us
a life
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