Hello, Everyone, from London UK

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

“Faith is a passionate intuition.” - William Wordsworth  

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.” - Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.” - Khalil Gibran

“The belief that one's own view of reality is the only reality is the most dangerous of all delusions”. - Paul Watzlawick

Now, it is the day before Christmas wherever the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated; a time, too, to reflect on just what any religious faith means to us, both personally and universally.

As regular readers will know, I consider myself a pantheist. Pantheists believe that God is nature.

Why do I think this way? I have no idea, except that I could never relate to a personified God, yet whenever I have engaged closely with nature, I have always experienced a sense of spirituality which I had always associated with religion, although religion had never given me access to the same experience; a very intimate experience, I should add.

No one person’s perspective on life, faith, whatever, will ever be quite the same, not least because we are all different.  That is not to say that one or other perspective is right or wrong, simply an integral part of who we are. 

Me, I find various religious dogma too prescriptive and often incompatible with my perspective on life as all-embracing, all-inclusive; no excluding anyone on the basis of gender, sexual identity, walk of life etc. Humanity thrives on our differences, differences we need to accept and respect. Religious leaders profess to agree, yet their dogma argues differently. Accordingly, many of their followers may argue differently too.

As regular readers will also be very aware, I am very much in favour of agreeing to differ in a spirit of peace and love, not the kind of divisiveness that causes, families to estrange, nations to declare war. <<wry bardic grin>>

Sadly, human nature is such that we often find ourselves caught on either side of various divides, that cannot or will not see where each is coming from, cannot or will not bring themselves to communicate and even try to understand and find common ground.

Human nature itself is complex, confusing, invariably expected to explain itself, when our actions cannot always be explained away; feelings are not necessarily the same as motives and do not lend themselves easily to the vocabulary of reason. From early years, we are taught that to understand ourselves and each other we need to be insightful as to what motivates, even justifies certain actions.  Yet, as the quotations above suggest, there are elements within all of us that even we, ourselves, are at pains to explain away.

Anyway, enough of my amateurish attempt to explain my deeper sentiments from which has evolved an all-inclusiveness that I try to inject into many of my poems. How far I succeed or not is up to the reader to decide.😉

It is Christmas Eve and, in the Spirit of Christmas, I want to thank you all for looking in on my blog posts and poems, it means a lot to me.

All that remains, for now, is to wish you all safe, well and hopeful always. Sadly, the ways of the world and human nature are such that this is not always the case. Even so, we can but keep looking on the bright(er) side of life and do our best to spread happiness, comfort and joy along the way; rarely easy, yet we can but try.

Whether we celebrate Christmas or not (I don’t) may the spirit of Christmas - one of hope, peace and kindness - be with us all.

Oh, and yes, I am working on a new poem, so do drop by again soon.

Take care, folks, whoever and wherever you are.

Hugs,

Roger

PS Many thanks to those readers who take the trouble to point out any print or spelling errors in some of my poems; I always take note, re-read the poem as it appears on the screen and make any necessary amendments.

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

Smiling Through

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

“There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.” - Leonard Cohen

“ What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.”- George Eliot

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

This post-poem also appears on my general blog today. Although many  LGBT readers visit both poetry blogs,  feedback suggests that there are still others who are not quite ready to accept that poetry is all-inclusive, to some degree or another. Whatever, I suspect I am not the only reader who has felt the light go out of their world and let someone's smile turn it on again...

Now, as regular readers will know, I have been treated with hormone therapy for my prostate cancer over a period of a good ten years now; one of the side-effects can be - as it is so for me - regular depression and/or a rising sense of panic whenever even small things go wrong. 

I suspect it may seem worse for older people like myself who live alone, which is maybe why we appreciate acts of kindness so much, as it helps (considerably) to alleviate these symptoms; someone able to spare just a few minutes to talk to you and help calm you down can make all the difference.

Since the pandemic, everyone has been under stress. Here in London, acts of kindness are noticeably in far shorter supply than they were previously. For example, fewer people are willing to pause to help ole Rog when clearly in difficulty or offer a seat on a crowded bus or train, so I have to stand, leaning on my walking stick for support. 

 Whenever anyone does offer me their seat, I thank them, throw them a huge smile, and the light in their eyes suggests it is as much welcome to them as their offer of a seat is to me.

As in many old sayings, there is much truth in the one about kindness bringing its own reward. 

Hopefully, we have seen the worst of Covid-19 and its variants, although there remain hard times ahead as the financial crisis finds so many people struggling to make ends meet.

All any of us can do is keep looking on the brighter, lighter side of life and take comfort in the knowledge that there is always light at the end of even the longest tunnel.

No, never easy, but... we have a choice?

SMILING THROUGH

This heart grew heavy,
loaded down with sadness, a sense
of feeling adrift,
barely keeping afloat for sailing
stormy waters,
struggling to make sense of a life
searching heart-and soul
for that familiar surge of a lively inspiration,
now gone quiet, all but a vacuum

Mind-body-spirit
struggling to rise above such despair
as strikes fear
in the hearts of those of us anxious
to make sense
of a You-Me-Us simply drifting along
having all but lost sight
of who we are any more, not as once we were,
birds of a feather, so happy together

Lately, even the smiles 
on our faces tell lies, trying to disguise
a You-Me-Us fallen apart
over tard times without our noticing,
taking us for granted,
failing to see how we rarely any more
as once we would
fondly reminisce about how we met, fell in love,
caught up in the magic of stars above

So… it came to pass,
we agreed a trial separation needing time
to think us through,
search the remains of who we once were,
try  and see a way clear
to bring You-Me-Us together again, fill 
the Black Hole
we found ourselves a lonely, grieving while apart,.
anxious to reconcile mind-body-spirit

Yes, we courted anew, years falling away, tears too,
a shared heart-and-soul smiling through

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

Hello again, Everyone

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

Hello again, Everyone, 

I am still working on a poem here, but hope to finish it soon. In the meantime, we can but all do our best to be safe, keep well and nurture a positive mindset.

Another “new reader” writes that it is ‘…unfair to talk about religious bigotry.’ He or she is entitled to their point of view, of course, but - not least as a gay man - I have been on the receiving end may times. Most religions are homophobic and always ready to quote from one religious text or another to justify the unjustifiable. Religion is far more than dogma, though, and that is often interpreted to best suit the accuser. 

Many Christians, for example, are quick to quote from the Old Testament, especially Leviticus 18, that suggests gay sex is an 'abomination. rather than the New Testament’s assertion in Mark 12 that we should  treat each other as we would expect to be treated ourselves. 

The same “new reader” claims to enjoy some of my poems and is 'genuinely sorry' that I will go to Hell when I die. Since I believe that any hell lies in what we make of life in the Here-and-Now we must agree to differ, but…  who knows, until we are beyond reach of all human consciousness or conscience?

Take care, folks and I hope to complete a new poem today, disorderly thought processes (more than a little out of sync with bardic aspirations) notwithstanding.

Many thanks for dropping by, much appreciated,

Do try browsing the archives in my absence as, when and if the whim takes you… for better or worse.

Hugs,

Roger 

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

 

A Swan in the Morning

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

Feedback suggests that some readers appear to have problem with my being gay. Well, that's their  problem. Whatever our sexuality, though, and whoever and wherever we are, there are families who only want the best for us, but cannot see that has to be our decision, no one else’s.

A blog reader has emailed to say that her husband of some 30+ years has died after contracting the coronavirus. I am sure we all be thinking of rooting for her and the whole family.  Sadly, it appears that she has been estranged all that time from her parents and siblings who were unhappy about her marrying a black man.

Another reader contacted me a year or so ago to say that he had been a widower for some years but recently remarried and was very happy but for “… my family adored my first wife and won’t accept either her or that I could possibly love anyone else.”

As a gay man, I know all about prejudice and how it can affect even ruin people’s lives. In latter years, attitudes have changed very much for the better, but prejudice in some people and communities is so deeply rooted that it may well be several generations yet before it disappears altogether.

I regret not coming out to my immediate family for years. I suspect it would have made little if any difference to our becoming estranged, although political correctness may well dissuade them from saying so now. Whatever, I told very few people when I fell in love with another man in my early 20’s. Ironically, we had decided to tell our families only days before he was killed in a road accident.

Subsequently, I grieved alone and would remain in the proverbial closet for some years yet. As regular readers know, I have never met anyone else with whom a such a love-relationship was ever in our mutual interest. on the cards. Oh, I have loved, yes, enjoyed occasional sex as well, but would never rediscover the kind of love that life-partnerships are founded upon.

Now, February is LGBT History month and this poem is my contribution to it; not an explicitly gay poem, but a love poem no less. We cannot help with whom we fall in love. Thankfully, love does not discriminate the way some people do, and whoever or wherever we may be, losing someone with whom we have been in a love-relationship, no matter how long or short-lived, hurts, terribly. 

Whether or not we find such love again, any love lost will always hurt, but love has a generosity of mind-body-spirit that not only lives on in us, but actively encourages us to reach for the stars, even if many of us have to settle for wishing on them. Hurt will heal, if we let it, but healing does not mean forgetting; happy memories shared will last forever and are meant to be treasured for that, never to make us feel guilty for getting on with our lives.

Photo from the Internet

A SWAN IN THE MORNING

Winter, a gloomy affair,
not least for a conspicuously empty chair
causing mind-body-spirit
to sink for its being moved to recall
a shared history, ours
for keeps, no place as would ever (surely?)
see either of us left alone
to mull over such what-might-have-been days
as would steal our tomorrows 

Spring ,the wistful heart
showing no sign of even attempting to get
the better of its passion
for dwelling on a future never to be,
as we’d once dared dream
of making ours, any tears but for such joys
as only their memories
can build a home on such shared love and trust
as our every kiss had promised 

Promises, come to nothing.
the more so for having meant everything
to we lovers, risen
from a place that’s darker and colder
than any wintry day
or night, if only for a loneliness overwhelming
the mind-body-spirit
that would brave the world, but for its prejudices
threatening the likes of you-me-us 

Together, we could have risen
above any politics of derision as will feed on
whatever scraps thrown,
its penchant for seizing on any stereotypes
likely to spread such divisions
as they can invite to take sides against creatures
great and small,
any half-lies become such half-truths as let humanity
duck any accusations of hypocrisy 

Chancing to look up as I walked on,
eyes brightening for their focusing on a swan
descending from above,
clearly heading for a lake just ahead of me
making noises as if calling
to another, spotted sailing among leafy shadows
silently, with dignity,
feathers stirring in a breeze as if already imagining
imminent courtship and coupling

My swan, it made a perfect landing
on the lake, wasted little time approaching
its chosen companion;
face to face, as if taking sure measure
of each other,
now nodding, as if come to an understanding;
a flurry of wings,
and mating begins, as glorious a spectacle as any other
in the eyes of Earth Mother 

I slowly walked away a lovemaking
in my ears reuniting you-me-us, reassuring
mind-body-spirit
not only that true love never dies
but has needs
it cannot nurture alone, any moving on meaning
neither disloyalty
nor disrespect, no less sure of a welcome than any other
in the eyes of Earth Mother 

Yet another wintry, human heart taking its cue from spring
for engaging with a swan one morning

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2021

[Note: This post-poem appears on both poetry blogs today.]

A Human Jungle

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

At the moment, the world, as needs must, is having to focus its attention on the coronavirus pandemic, but needs must, too, we keep a weather eye on other forms of pandemic; racism, sexism, despotism religious bigotry and homophobia among others. 

It has always been a mystery to me, the how anyone can justify their prejudices, let alone attempt to reconcile them with a feeling for humanity.   

Nothing can justify judging someone, or leaping to conclusions about them, based only on the colour of their skin or any socio-cultural differences we might have with them, often for reasons best known to ourselves? 

Human nature is such that none of us can expect to experience an affinity along such lines as love or even friendship with everyone we meet, especially given the variety of circumstances - for better or worse - in which we may well be thrown together; such differences as comprise both natural and human landscapes will see to that. We can, though, try to take each day as it comes, make the best of and see the best in whatever and whoever comes our way, rather than feel inclined to go by such first impressions as are often misleading, if not always. 

No one deserves to feel they are being judged for whatever by appearances, physical or otherwise; similarly, no one deserves to be denied a chance to atone - each in his or her own way - for their mistakes. Time and again, we hear that ‘to err is human’; a truism’ yes, and one we should embrace, but neither as an excuse nor escape clause.   

I well recall a conversation many years ago with a college friend who went on to teach Religious Studies at a secondary school. He made the point that there’s no escaping our mistakes, especially the graver ones. The latter, especially, are likely to haunt us forever; we can but do our best to learn from as well as atone for them, and trust that any ghosts will see to it that we do just that. Although we were light years apart with regard to our thoughts on religion, it came as no small surprise to us both that we saw eye to eye on the subject of ghosts. 

A HUMAN JUNGLE 

Grey skies,
reflecting an affinity with doom
of a world
in the grip of a pandemic
that would cast us
beyond reach of a hopeful heart;
the heart, though,
is stronger than we know, its native spirit
propagating kinder ideas

A smiley sun
does its best to bring such joys
as it can
if only to abandon us
once night falls
to such dreams as may or may not
have us waking  
to another dawn’s rising on such half-truths
as propagating fake news 

As always, it falls
to mind-body-spirit to devise
ways to rise above
the worst that can threaten
its finer powers,
reassure us, whenever despair
gets to enjoy
in its finest hours for tearing us into pieces,
like fodder for hungry wolves 

Forever prowling,
wolves in human shape and form,
hunting such prey
as come referred by various
baser instincts
of nature and human nature,
primed to scavenge
among those of us too easily brought down
by a similar prevalence of flaws 

Such are the ways
of both natural and human worlds,
the better known
(and denied) for various
better instincts
primed to set the world on fire.
not least by inspiring
its finer aspirations to dissuade fragile nerves
from making a case for excuses 

For humanity's taking love and peace on board, 
any jungle drums less likely to be heard...?

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2021

[ Note: This post-poem appears on both poetry blogs today.]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy-Ever-After, a Positive Thinking Mindset

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

Everyone, thank goodness, is different or the world would be a very boring place, but as I have said since I began writing up the blogs ten years ago, our differences do not make us different, only human.

When I first came out to the world as a gay man, many people told me I was exchanging one lonely world for another, would end up a lonely, bitter person living alone with no family to help me through the ups and downs of old age. Well, yes, I do live alone, but I am not bitter in spite of continuing hate crimes against LGBT people worldwide; all the more shame on the world for that. Many religious groups, have much to answer for by suggesting that love is selective by nature in so far as we LGBT folks deserve to be excluded.

I do not have any family members to support me, either, having never had much in common with most of those remaining while others - intentionally or unintentionally - have always given the impression they are of a homophobic bent.

No, blood is not always thicker than water, while nothing can be stronger than two people bonding with love and companionship, whether as lovers or close friends; we should never underestimate the power of platonic love nor friendship in the true sense of the word. As I have said many times, love takes many shapes and forms; people, animals, pastimes, hobbies, favourite places (dare I say even poetry?) all have their part to play in getting the better of any bitterness threatening to set in because the mind is (too often) inclined to dwell on regrets for things left undone in this life than taking any pleasure from all we have done.

As a gay man, I may be but a small cog in a big wheel, yet coming out of that wretched closet years ago and taking my place in helping the wheel turn my way has been worth every heartbeat; much as I regret the inability of some people to respect my sexuality, well, c'est la vie, and bitterness never got anyone anywhere worth going to in the first place.

I am not well these days; while my spirit remains as feisty as ever, mind and body are slowly but surely succumbing to the stresses of old age. I will be 74 in December and, no, that is not old BUT hormone therapy for my prostate cancer since 2011 is taking its toll and I struggle sometimes to keep mind, body and spirit in sync with each other.One day, the cancer will catch up with me, and I decided long ago that I would not tolerate a mind-body-spirit in free fall; rather, I will take a one-way trip to Dignitas in Switzerland. Some readers may be horrified while others will know how much I value quality of life above life itself; my only regret would be leaving friends behind (readers too) and I can but ask them to remember that -  for me, at least - it would be a fairy tale ending in so far as I would be embracing death as I have embraced life... for better, for worse, while enough is enough.

Meanwhile, so long as the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to leave any poems left in me, you, dear readers (of both poetry blogs) will be the first to know.

HAPPY-EVER-AFTER. A POSITIVE THINKING MINDSET

Once upon a time,

home was a lonely closet,

Freedom banging

on the door to be let out,

yet Fear

always getting the better

of a mind-body spirit

keeping faith with humanity's

common capacity

for peace, love, and kindness

above all else

I sought it here, there,

everywhere, a life force

to close divisions

if not heal them, by agreeing

to differ instead

of choosing to throw stones

at glass houses

while expounding a belief

in extending peace

and goodwill (if not love)

wherever

Once upon a time,

I took the proverbial bull

by its horns,

and fled my lonely closet,

still scared

of a world as likely to shun

as embrace me,

but resolved to take a chance

on human nature

being far better and bigger

than bigotry

World (still) running low

on happy-ever-after endings

for LGBT voices

crying "Enough is enough!"

in a world (still)

preferring to play deaf

whenever it suits

to any God-given reassurance

that (all) humanity

deserves Happy-ever-After

endings

Whatever, I am as I am,

and all that I am is as free to be

what I am as any other

in a world feeding its children

Happy-ever-afters,

that can, indeed, suffer

its harsher realities

for touching base now and then 

with such life-forces

as have love's best interests

at heart

Copyright R. N. Taber 2019