A Sense of Spirituality

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

Human beings are inclined to divide rather than unite, but isn’t love a common bond, and one we would do well to acknowledge rather than be persuaded to pursue the politics of division by various socio-cultural-religious forces that so like to dominate for domination’s sake…?

Love does not discriminate; it is as much an integral part of the human spirit whether those  engaging with it are gay, straight, transgender or bisexual; nor does religion have a monopoly on spirituality as I discovered upon turning to nature where religion failed me altogether.

A SENSE OF SPIRITUALITY

Down by the river,

where kingfishers fly,

I lay with my lover

one joyful summer’s day,

passing clouds

parting for kisses

from fair Apollo,

as if reaffirming our faith

in peace, love,

and a native integrity,

nor necessarily less so

for being gay

Down by the river,

where music fills the air,

I kissed my gay lover

under eaves of a willow tree,

its leaves shimmering

like stained glass windows

as if Earth Mother

restoring Apollo’s church

to the likes of us

to worship at the altar

of passion and rediscover

its spirituality

Down by the river

summer flowers fill the air

with perfumes

conspiring to fill our church

with all the colours,

smells, sounds of love

and a peace of mind

that Earth Mother would have

a common humanity

bring to bear on each other

whatever our ethnicity, creed

sex or sexuality

Copyright R. N. Taber 2015 

[Note: This post-poem also appears on my general poetry blog today.] RNT

The Word Is...

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

From time to time, I find myself looking back in horror and anger to the dark days of my youth when gay relationships were illegal here in the UK, especially when I receive emails from gay people living in a gay-unfriendly environment (anywhere in the world) and besieged with doubts regarding the integrity of his or her sexuality.

It is OK to be gay, If other people have a problem with that, it's their problem. The world is all the richer for the diversity of people in it; as I have said many times on the blogs, our differences do not make us different, just human,

THE WORD IS…

G-A-Y is a word that’s had me worried

till I met you

G-A-Y is a word that’s had me scared

for HIV-AIDS

G-A-Y is a word I’d heard is a synonym

for perverse

G-A-Y is a word I’d only known used

for a punch bag

G-A-Y is a word I was taught to believe

only losers use

G-A-Y is a word I was told denies God

and worse

G-A-Y is a word I was encouraged to spit

upon

G-A-Y is a word that fair shook the life

out of me

G-A-Y is a word that tossed me into a pit

of wintry despair

G-A-Y is the word that returned me to light

and springtime

G-A-Y is the word that tossed me a lifeline

and set me free

G-A-Y is a word that really had me worried

till you found me

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010

  

[Note: This poem was written in 1973, rediscovered in 2009.and first posted on the Internet in 2010]

Milk

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

Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22, 1930 - November 27, 1978)

An American acquaintance once expressed surprise that I count Harvey Milk among my heroes. He seemed to think it odd that an Englishman should rate Harvey Milk so highly.  Oh, but why not? Years after his murder, he remains a role model for gay people worldwide, not just in the USA.

Harvey Milk (Photo from Wikipedia)

No poem can do the man justice, but I hope you will enjoy this villanelle.

MILK

Inspiring hope and integrity,
freeing the natural self to run true,
a gay man called Harvey

Where hate crime stalks society,
see love and peace yet win through,
inspiring hope and integrity

No apology for homosexuality
(though its nightmares come true);
a gay man called Harvey

Where lies reworking history,
truth finds its allies (worldwide, too)
inspiring hope and integrity

Recruiting us all to the equality
a common humanity (still) aspires to
a gay man called Harvey

Helping expose world hypocrisy
(as our ‘betters’ frequently fail to do);
inspiring hope and integrity,
a gay man called Harvey…

Copyright R. N. Taber 2013

Putting the World to Rights

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

Two Christian guesthouse owners who were ordered to pay damages after refusing to allow a gay couple to stay in a double room lost their appeal here yesterday. Could it be that, regarding sexuality (in some parts of the world at any rate) it is putting itself to rights at last?

Everyone has right to their own religious beliefs, but no one has the right to impose them on others. Besides, I may not be a religious person, but I know my Bible, and Jesus of Nazareth is not portrayed as someone likely to condemn anyone for their sexuality.

Don’t these ‘devout’ Christians know their New Testament at all? So many seem to have lost the plot altogether. For example, whatever happened to the ‘love thy neighbour’ bit? Not that certain Christians are alone among certain followers of certain world religions when it comes to losing the plot...

One thing is certain though. There will always be wonderful people in the world who possess quality sure to get the better of any socio-cultural-religious prejudices without having to resort to either compromise or deception; it is called commonsense.

This poem last appeared here in December 2010 and I have since slightly but significantly revised it. Reader ‘Jermaine’ has asked me to repeat it for his boyfriend, ‘Dave’, whom he met in The Black Cap gay pub in Camden Town, London  NW3 a year ago today. I only go there occasionally these days, for old time’s sake, but have some wonderful memories of that pub, and recommend it to everyone.

PUTTING THE WORLD TO RIGHTS

We met at a pub in Camden Town,
having arranged it on the Internet,
but for a while weren’t even sure
if we liked each other, never mind
up for sex

After failing to put the world to rights,
we felt far less wary of each other;
I began to feel attracted to a fullness
of lips, growing sensuousness of body
language

The more he talked, the less I heard,
a gleam in each eye distracting me,
and several shirt buttons left undone
inviting me to caress the bronzed flesh
within

By the time we got round to deciding
who should go to whose for coffee,
all I wanted was to slip under a duvet,
let him enter me, make good the poetry
of imagination

No duvet greeted me, but sheets of satin,
caressing my body even before his turn
to feel his way through the dark passages
of my self, guilt blocking every attempt
to come clean

He persevered, took me to the climax
of my fears, let flow waters of the earth
to succour this lonely self, left for dead
by those who insist it’s a sin for one man
to love another

If love means breaking ties that bind
generations, let’s have no reservations;
love is far too precious a gift to throw
in the face of a fate that wants the best
for us all

We gay folks love to be just as close
to family and old friends as anyone else,
but there’s a love we place even higher,
and it’s a foolish person caves in to those
denying us that

Copyright R. N. Taber 2009; 2011

[Update: This poem appears in Tracking the Torchbearer by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2012]

20,000 Streets Under The Sky, and Counting

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

All over the world there are gay boys and girls coming to terms with their sexuality, and the fact that not everyone has either the maturity or understanding to recognize the moral courage it takes to ‘come out’ nor the inhumanity if not immorality of a holier-than-thou attitude towards  anyone who is ‘different’. 

As I have said many times, our differences do not make us different, only human.

This poem has not appeared on the blog since 2010 and reader ‘Bryan’ has requested its reappearance. Bryan says, ‘I have been happy living with the same partner for some years now, but will never forget my first rejection by a boy in the 6^th form at school. It haunted me well into my thirties, and it wasn’t until I met my partner that I found the courage of my sexuality...’

I love that phrase ‘the courage of my sexuality’ don’t you?

Here’s sending a BIG HUG to Bryan and his partner.

  

20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY, AND COUNTING

Wandering a maze of streets where we’d played,

innocents in childhood’s special places,

I recalled dreams we’d had and plans we’d made,

chocolate and ice cream on our faces

Later, during teenage years, I’d dared confide

a sensation of being in freefall,

swept along by feelings compelled to hide

yet bound to answer nature’s frantic call

Wary of streets where once you’d walked with me,

tossed aside by our childhood’s secret haunts

on feisty waves of brave maturity,

I turned a deaf ear to your jeers and taunts

These streets, alone, stood by and embraced me,

kept faith with a youth’s sexuality

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010