From Russia with Love

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

Once, I had a Russian boyfriend, but we lost touch after he returned home. I mentioned him in a previous post, and recently heard from him again. I was delighted to hear that he is well and happily married to a lesbian. It appears they are very fond of each other, but get on with their respective love lives while paying lip service to the surrounding conventions. It is sad, but as good a means to a happy end as any, I guess, in a country well-known for its anti-gay attitudes.

Since starting the blog, I have heard from other gay couples in much the same position; in India, Pakistan and various African countries, for example.  Bigoted governments, and anyone who pays too much attention to what they say, remain in denial of one of the more poignant facts of life; that being gay is down to genetic make-up and not choice.  The only choice a gay person has is whether or not he or she finds a way to reconcile their sexuality with getting on with their life, and being happy; if this means paying lip-service to the conventions in a predominantly anti-gay environment, so be it.  

Hopefully, one day, gay people worldwide will have the respect and goodwill due to every human being doing his or her best to be true to their sexuality as well the home and wider society in which we all live; family, friends, work colleagues, politicians, clerics...

This poem is a villanelle.


FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

I will not turn and walk away
where bigots say I should
because I happen to be gay

I will not hide, by night or day
where bigots wish me dead;
I will not turn and walk away

If I must watch what I say,
I will not deny feeling good
because I happen to be gay

Bad laws may have their way
(to humanity, the last word);
I will not turn and walk away

Where faith comes into play,
I shall love, not fear God
because I happen to be gay

Let’s keep homophobia at bay
(see it fall on its own sword);
I will not turn and walk away
because I happen to be gay…

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2015

Mind-Body-Spirit, in Safe Hands

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

This week, St. Petersburg is pushing forward a law that would make it illegal for any person to write a book, publish an article or speak in public about being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, and calling it "homosexual propaganda". St. Petersburg's Mayor Poltavchenko, President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin are all pushing for a law that is more than an abuse of Human Rights; it is an insult to humanity. 

The poem last appeared on the blog in March 2010. As the UK is currently experiencing a very cold spell, you can hardly blame me for recalling a memory/poem to keep me warm... Moreover, I am dedicating it to all our brothers and sisters across the whole of Russia and beyond; any suggestion that someone should ever be persecuted for their sexuality is a stain on civilisation, but especially to the extent we have seen in parts of Africa, in Uganda for example.   

It just goes to show shows how bloody minded and ignorant some world governments can be. Come to that, I don’t recall reading or hearing anything about this sickening proposed anti-gay legislation in Russia here in the UK...

To all my Russian blog readers, a BIG HUG, and good luck! Мы думаем о Вас всех (I hope that is how you say, We are thinking of you all.

MIND-BODY-SPIRIT, IN SAFE HANDS

You dived under my top,

tongue on nipples aching with desire;

hands at my jeans would not stop,

my whole being on fire

I longed to respond, could not

(for too long told it’s wrong, obscene)

as you invaded me with your heat,

pulled my jeans down

My heart tore like an express

along twisting tracks of denial, regret,

embracing years of loneliness, pain,

on a rack of ages-old guilt

Slowly, I let go all hype

imprinted on my heart, soul, brain;

rose above the stereotype,

learned to live again

Once mere pieces of clay,

we discovered sex, no truths held back;

though some protest, as they may,

let them to their own lives look

Copyright R. N. Taber 2007; 2018

[Note; this poem first appears under the title 'Fast Tracking' in Accomplices to Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007]