No Place like Soho OR or G-A-Y: Here, There, Wherever

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

Today's poem first appeared on the blog several years ago and is re-instated especially for Salvo who has emailed to say that home is a South London bed-sit and social distancing is making him very depressed. "I often go to a gay bar in Soho and love meeting and chatting with other gay guys there, maybe more sometimes, and miss all that terribly as I haven't lived here long and haven't made any  friends locally."  I empathise, of course I do, not least because I have battled with depression all my life (I will be 75 this year) but need must ...

If you are not having to self-isolate, do get out as much as you can; a brisk walk can do wonders for morale. You might try keeping a diary of good days and bad during the pandemic, anything to help distract you from feeling lonely. TV and radio are godsends, but only up to a point.

We all need to find ways of distracting ourselves from the awful situation to which we are waking up to daily at the moment. As I say on my general poetry blog today, "I am using the necessity for social distancing during the pandemic to look at and (sometimes) revise or rework old poems. I miss being with friends, of course, but I like to think of my poems and you, my readers, are friends  too; it helps me feel less isolated as I live alone and would almost certainly be feeling very lonely otherwise."

Until my eyes started to get tired so easily, I was an avid reader, mostly of fiction, and the characters would become friends. I was - inwardly if not outwardly - a lonely child and reading was  more than a pleasure, it was a lifeline. While most public libraries and bookstores are closed at the moment, talking books are available online and many public libraries have digital versions that can be accessed by library members. You might even want to try serialised versions of my own novels on my fiction blog:

https://rogertaberfiction.blogspot.com/2016/05/news-updates-fiction.html

Feedback suggests that some readers who simply enjoy poetry also dip into my general poetry blog ... although it also suggests that the majority don't. <>

https://rogertab.blogspot.com/

There are plenty of blogs other than mine that might interest you, of course, so why not do a search and see what's on offer?

In the absence of all else, happy memories can be as companionable as they can also be a comfort. Since I passed 70, I often enjoy a trip down Memory Lane. I rarely venture on to the Gay Scene these days, but can always rely on some lively  memories to feed me wonderful daydream, and in glorious rainbow colours ...

I have lived in London, UK for many years, 30+ of  these in Kentish Town (London Borough of Camden). I would often go to Soho when I was younger, its Gay Scene second to none. Like me, it has something of a jaded feel now, and gay friends in the know tell me the Gay Scene has shifted to Vauxhall (South London) although I reckon Soho can still give any of its rivals a good run for their money.

For me, there really is no place like Soho.

This poem is a villanelle.

NO PLACE LIKE SOHO or G-A-Y: HERE, THERE, WHEREVER

Here, there, wherever I go,

gay bars far and wide,

there’s no place like Soho

It's G-A-Y in San Francisco,

but I’m on a Soho ride;
here, there, wherever I go

Though a club in San Diego

sure puts the ‘I’ in Pride,

there’s no place like Soho

Some people, they hate us so

(blame a cultural divide?)

here, there, wherever I go

,
G-A-Y, an all-colourful show,
its history, my sure guide;

there’s no place like Soho

Sunsets, fading to a pink glow,

on gay icons sorely tried;

here, there, wherever I go,

there’s no place like Soho

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010