http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
A new poem today, hot off the keyboard and inspired by several offensive emails I received from readers of my general poetry blog who objected to yesterday's poem that I also published here and was, by sharp contrast, well received. I have no problem with criticism of a poem for its structure or even its theme/s but offensive comments directed at whatever point/s of view it expresses, those make me angry. Whatever happened to agreeing to differ ...?
It is interesting that whenever I post a poem on both blogs that concerns spirituality, at least some readers of my general poetry blog express disappointment, to say the least; others send troll-type emails protesting that LGBT people cannot experience a sense of spirituality if only because, as one reader such put it, "no religion accepts active homosexuality or other sexual deviations." So ... whatever happened to the kind of love-thy-neighbour ethos on which most if not all religions pride themselves and subsequently preach?
I am neither an atheist nor agnostic, but closer to being a pantheist in so far as I see any 'God' and nature as one. Pantheism has been defined as "a view that the world is either identical to God, or an expression of God's nature; it comes from 'pan' meaning all, and 'theism,' which means belief in God. So according to pantheism, “God is everything and everything is God.” This is the closest I have come to accounting for a depth of feeling in me that no conventional religion comes even close to defining to my personal satisfaction. Pantheists do not believe in an after-life; neither do I although regular readers will know that I believe in the power of a posthumous conscious that is both personal and universal.
What I love most about pantheism is its all-inclusiveness, something I find sorely if not shamefully lacking in other religions.
So much for my thoughts on spirituality, expressed further in today's poem which I will not be posting on my general blog, not because trolls worry or disturb me, but I have better things to do than exercise any Right of Reply; suffice to say, I attempt that in many of my poems.
Now, as you know, I am working on a new collection of poems which, too, will be as all-inclusive as I can make it, although it will probably mean having to self-publish again; in the past, only one (U.S.) publisher has ever expressed an interest in including gay/lgbt poems as well as general poetry, but they messed me about so much that I abandoned the project altogether; this time I will have at least a few hundred copies printed of 'Addressing the Art of Being Human' and see what happens. (I usually even manage to make a small profit, a welcome bonus.)
Hopefully, the new collection will be ready by September/ October; any readers are welcome to reserve a copy by emailing me at rogertab:aol.com with 'Poetry Collection' in the subject field. Eventually, all my poetry collections will be available as e-books so readers from poorer countries can access them for free, but that is some way off yet.
Having lived with prostate cancer since 2011, I often get the feeling I'm living on borrowed time, and there is yet another collection I have in mind which will, among other things, again reflect something of the global struggle we have all endured - and many may well continue to endure, Human Rights notwithstanding.
MIND-BODY-SPIRIT, INNER EAR-EYE-VOICE
Who
or what is God?
gender
neutral, monopoly of no one culture
or
religion, to each
its
own interpretation of source, meaning,
and
ways of expression
as
in prayer, meditation, any creative therapy
invoking
a poetry of faith
Where,
then, is God?
God
is where the heart is, beating to the music
of
mind-body-spirit,
in
anyone, any place, anywhere, as common
to
human nature
as
the humanity to which it owes nothing, offers
a realisation of raison d'etre
Why,
then, a God?
to
nurture that native sense of love and peace
inspiring
humanity
on
the one hand, killing it off with the other
for
want of sensibility,
inciting
a one-upmanship and division as defining
the
politics of its religions
Humanity
is a diversity
of
natural design, but a part of a natural world
comprising
bird and beast,
creatures
of its seas, sunny days and cloudy, come
sun,
rain or snow;
no
Empire of Humankind, nor is Progress but a show
demanding
universal applause
Reason
not the need
who
feels a sense of spirituality found wanting
by
such conventions
as
proposed by certain ‘betters’ convinced they
are
in the right,
would
put in the wrong alternative choices aspiring
to
much the same life forces
Copyright
R. N. Taber 2020
No comments:
Post a Comment