Softly, Softly, Sexuality OR Gay in Moscow

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

[Update April 24 2017]: A conversation with a Russian born gay woman married to an Englishman recently confirmed how, tragically, many basic freedoms are being denied in Russia. New laws brought in by Vladimir Putin's government in 2013 have targeted basic human rights.

The result is a Russia where people are increasingly gagged from talking about their political beliefs, stopped from expressing their gender and sexual identity, and banned from involvement with any non-governmental rights groups.]

As regular readers may recall, I had a Russian boyfriend some years ago if only for a short while. He was studying in London and we kept in touch after he returned to Russia, but only briefly and I never heard from him again. Hopefully, he has been able to live the life and love of his first choice unlike so many gay people worldwide who - for one reason or another -  have felt obliged to settle for second best.  There re too many gay men and women all over the world having to live in fear simply for a sexuality that is as much a natural part of them as any limb.

February is LGBT History Month in the UK (October in the United States) and I have published several poems on the blog in an effort to show solidarity with gay readers worldwide living - as I did as a teenager and young man - in a predominantly gay-unfriendly society. Even here in the West, though, while society may, on the whole, be less anti-gay, homophobia remains very much alive and kicking if more closeted due to legislation in defence of political correctness.

LGBT History Month is also as good a way as any of getting across to the less enlightened heterosexual what it means to be gay, a good excuse - if excuse were needed - for schools and parents to discuss the subject sensitively and intelligently with older children and young people. Unfortunately, too few parents or schools (ever) do this, thereby - if only by default – allowing misleading and offensive stereotypes  still attached to gay boys and girls, men and women, to spread (worldwide) unchallenged and unchecked.

Bigotry and prejudice are, by their very nature, reluctant to get real. We can but remain hopeful that the 21st century,as it progresses, will eventually leave a more positive impression about gay people upon even those majorities across the world where gay and other significant minorities continue to suffer various socio-cultural-religious injustices. 

This poem is a villanelle.

SOFTLY, SOFTLY, SEXUALITY... or GAY IN MOSCOW

In the shadow of the Kremlin,
eager for public debate,
Russia’s gay men and women

Still (by many) considered a sin,
same sex lovers date
in the shadow of the Kremlin

Where politics rarely lets us in,
human rights running late,
Russia’s gay men and women

G-A-Y asking society to listen,
unafraid to talk straight
in the shadow of the Kremlin

Subjected to various injustices
approved by the state,
Russia’s gay men and women

Hypocrisy, demanding religion
take Putin’s part…
In the shadow of the Kremlin,
Russia’s gay men and women


Copyright R. N. Taber 2016

Messaging Christmas Day

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

[Update, Nov. 2018: A mixed (general and gay-interest) selection of my best poems will be published by Austin Macauley under the title 'Addressing the Art of Being Human' within the next few months; previous titles were self-published and sold well, but were only available in the UK whereas A M have offices in London and New York so it will be widely available.] RNT

Now, whether you celebrate religious festivals like Christmas or not, alone or with family and friends…may the most important wishes on your wish list will come true.

Yes, this poem is another villanelle.  As regular readers will know, I love villanelles and have written nearly 200. Readers have asked if they are available in a collection but the answer is, no. I have approached a few poetry publishers but none were interested, partly because villanelles are considered old fashioned in poetry circles these days and partly because some are on a gay theme. 

I suspect you would be surprised how many poetry publishers and magazine editors won’t accept gay material ... yes, even in the 21st century.  Some 600+ of my poems have appeared in various poetry publications world-wide since 1993 (excluding any that have only appeared in my collections) yet barely 2% of those have been on a gay theme. 

Let’s hope next year will not only be the year the less enlightened among the heterosexual majority grow up and get real about gay boys and girls, men and women…whatever their socio-cultural-religious background...but also a few poetry publishers/editors too.

MESSAGING CHRISTMAS DAY

What else is there left to say
but to wish peace and love to all,
in messaging Christmas Day?

May lonely people find a way
out of free falling in a Black Hole;
what else is there left to say?

Listen to the homeless as they
may well be making Hope's last call
in messaging Christmas Day

May the world, its fears allay
that a War on Terror not see it fall;
what else is there left to say?

Let peace-and-love have its say,
wake the world with its rallying call
in messaging Christmas Day

May young and old ever say 'nay'
to denying Human Rights a lead role;
what else is there left to say,
in messaging Christmas Day?

Copyright R. N. Taber 2009; Rev. 2018

A Gay Bashing

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

There is a strong case for this post/poem being on my other (general) poetry blog but it will appear here first, not least because I know of at least one closet gay reader who has participated in an attack on a gay man because he did not want to lose face with his so-called 'friends'.

Now, it is one of the many tragedies of modern life that there are (still) people and groups of people that are so screwed up as to want to see an gay or transgender person hurt, even dead.

Politics, religion, a common humanity…all have their part to play in getting the message across to certain pockets of society that gay and transgender folks are just ordinary people who want to be left to go about their daily lives in peace. How we like sex and with whom is our own business.

Does a perspective on how (or even if) we like sex loom large in our appreciation of society as a whole? Did I hear you answer, no? So why should it matter if a person is gay?

Gay people are not irreligious monsters, although some religions would (still) make us outcasts…or worse.

It is also a myth that gay people are paedophiles. Historically, the vast majority of paedophiles are screwed up heterosexuals.

So come on, you holier-than-thou brigade and you others too busy playing lip service to political correctness to see the wood for trees…give us gay people (among others, worldwide) a chance to prove our worth, yeah?

What’s that? Gay people have never had it so good, did you say?

In 76 countries, gay relationships are still a criminal offence and punishable by death in six. 

As with all forms of prejudice, the expression it takes is likely to turn on the socio-cultural-religious/ home-school-work environment in which people live…in a century that still has one hell of a lot to learn about love, peace, and a common humanity.

Gay bashing is not the only form of hate crime of course; none should be tolerated by decent people, local communities or countries worldwide.

 A GAY BASHING 

Found him late at night, bleeding 
in a street gutter, near dead

His fine features an ugly sight, 
white shirt turning red...
Called an ambulance, did all I could
to comfort, help ease his pain,
but it seemed a long time coming,
and he but barely breathing
as I struggled to speak, anxious
he stay awake, so scared 
for him that he close his eyes
never to hear a human voice again,
feel its warmth spread over him 
like my overcoat, not yells of abuse
chasing him down centuries,
spilling their ignorance and hate 
on streets much like this one
with more horrendous tales to relate
for any who care to listen

A light rain began to fall like tears
(a God of Love empathising?)

I, too, wept that he might even die
believing the world against him
and siding with its sick homophobes
even though a part of me knew
it was already too late - for them
as for him - given a world 
barely even paying lip service 
to LGBT folks in parts,
hearts sporting logos set in tablets
of stone, fronting public roles
that embrace liberality and equality
while inwardly egging on
the sheer bestiality of any criminality 
seen as justified wherever LGBT
spells SCUM, deserving no less,
no matter if (supposedly) we all of us
share a common humanity

Left near drowning  in a sea of sirens, 
we'll yet draw strength from straws

Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2019

[Note: A much earlier version of this poem appears in  A Feeling for the Quickness of Time 
by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005.]

Where the Earth laughs Longest

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

I hope you are all ok and keeping well. I am fine (yes, really!) despite my continuing treatment for (non aggressive) prostate cancer. Oh, I have good days and bad days, but don't we all even when in the best of health? On a good day, you will probably find a blog entry here. On bad days, don't worry about yours truly. I am very good at making the best of bad times.

Meanwhile...

Every so often I am asked to post a link to my poetry reading on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square in 2009. People often ask for a CD. Sorry, but Sky Arts refused to let participants have a CD of their contributions so we only have a link to the British Library archive:

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20100223121732/oneandother.co.uk/participants/Roger_T [For now, at least, this link needs the latest Adobe Flash Player  and works best in Firefox; the archives website cannot run Flash but changes scheduled for later this year may well mean the link will open without it. Ignore any error message and give it a minute or so to start up. The video lasts an hour. ] RT 3/18

Some readers have kindly said they enjoyed my 4^th Plinth reading and asked if I have any more videos. Well, only on my YouTube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/rogerNtaber (I hope to add more uploads as time goes by.) 

Meanwhile…

Now, love plays an important part in all our lives, and it is my belief that this does not end when our hearts stop beating.  Nature, not any religious faith persuaded me of this long ago. Religion does not have a monopoly on love any more than it has on spirituality.

Love, in all its shapes and forms is a spiritual experience denied to no one. Only, everyone has to find it for themselves in their own time and their own way. Never believe people who insist they have a template for love anyone can use; people are inclined to prioritize, and in so doing they discriminate even if unintentionally.

Yes, yes, I know I’ve said all this before…and will probably do so again. True, the world is becoming a kinder place for LGBT lovers but there remain vast swathes of less enlightened people among the heterosexual majority in a world that still has much to learn about love and a long way to go before it puts its money where its mouth is when it encourages talk of Equality, Human Rights, and Peace.

Oh, and in my experience of being openly gay for many years, the key to survival lies not only in love, but also in laughter; if we cannot laugh at ourselves sometimes, the world's bigots win hands down.

'The Earth laughs in flowers'. - Ralph Waldo Emerson (Hamatreya)

WHERE THE EARTH LAUGHS LONGEST

At the moment of my death,

we‘ll make love again, just as

when our first twilight fell,

late summer leaves like a shower

of September rain, nature

casting a spell to keep us safer

than Holy Books dare tell

At the moment of my death,

we’ll make love again, creating

as much joy and more

than it has given us, we chosen,

meant to fly time and space,

any separation but a homing-in

on some glorious horizon

At the moment of my death,

our love will surely kill all pain,

be as a tree in blossom,

its springtime come again, though

a storm play tricks on its light,

for I shall rise above any threat

to return where first we met

At the moment of my death,

the spirit of love will leave a mark

much like a smile on my pillow,

and I’ll be guided by Earth Mother

to your side, she who kept faith

with us while we lived, as we two

stayed true to each other

Though life lead us up a garden path,
it's love always has the last laugh...

Copyright R. N. Taber 2012; 2018

[Note; An alternative final couplet appears in an earlier version of this poem first published under the title 'Earth Mother, Spirit of Love' in Tracking the Torchbearer by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2012]

In Love and War

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

World War 1 was meant to be the war to end all wars. Yet, World War 2 came along and there have been wars since; so many deaths, so many injuries and so many lives devastated.

Even as I write, brave men and women, gay and straight alike, are fighting, dying, and sustaining terrible injuries across the world.  

Is it not strange that, even in the 21^st century, we rarely hear how gay men and women, too, make sacrifices for a kinder, better world?  Not surprising, really, I suppose. Let’s face it. Home Fronts can be a battlefield for us as well…

When will humankind ever learn, eh? When will we ever learn...?

IN LOVE AND WAR

As we homed in to hug goodbye,

you moved your head,

your lips brushing against mine

an instant too long

for it to have been just a mistake;

I told myself it was imagination,

conjuring up images

I tried to put aside for its wanting

its wicked way with us,

having us on, playing a silly trick

You went to war in foreign fields

and all I could do

was wish you safe and well

while in a cold sweat

over thoughts of your coming back;

just when I thought it safe to dream

they’d spring an ambush,

shoot me down, leave me exposed,

(no uncommon enemy trait)

for vultures to spot, swoop and pick

You would always find me, comfort

me in my distress

where I’d peer behind death’s door;

one kiss, more than enough

to open my eyes, surprise me awake;

a day came when I slept in late

after hours of fighting off my fears,

waking up to tears on my cheek

I had thought was blood (yours?)

the enemies of love resolved to take

You were sat on the edge of my bed,

grinning from ear to ear;

I flung my arms around your neck,

nor was it any a mistake

as you kissed me, I kissed you back;

our lovemaking told its own story,

(no happy ending assured)

and we, though our hearts near break,

sure to shine its light - where all

closet lovers go in fear of the dark

Copyright R. N. Taber 2009