Now, Voyager or G-A-Y, Quantum Leap

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

Bad times are inclined to haunt us, but that’s not always such a bad thing if it makes us concentrate on and be thankful for the good times, inspires or even goads us to beat any unfriendly ghosts of the past at their own game if only by taking that quantum leap most likely to give us a chance to shape up for a better, kinder future…

'The untold want by life and land ne'er granted,
Now, voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.' (Walt Whitman)

NOW, VOYAGER or G-A-Y, QUANTUM LEAP 

The night I walked was cold
and dark, seemingly without end,
no star in the sky
to guide me on my weary way
nor Man in the Moon
pretending to watch over me,
be a friend

The road I walked was cold
and dark, seemingly without end,
my lonely world,
a sorry place, heavy heart
an everyday load
for no one to watch over me,
be a friend

I fell to my knees and cried,
bitter tears, seemingly without end,
and after a while
the night grew less cold and dark
as a sick, pale, moon
appeared, seemed badly in need
of a friend

One by one, fading stars came
to assure me a new day was near,
and sure enough
dawn blinked at the end of my tunnel,
urging me on to its end,
daring to believe I’d find in Apollo
a true friend

The world I walked was cold
and dark, no comfort in night or day
as I all but gave up
on it, scared of its discovering I’m gay,
till woken by his breath
on my face to all the light and heat
of love on Earth


Copyright R. N. Taber 2013

No Apology For Sexuality

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

Yes, another love poem. Oh, and why not?

Now, someone asked me why Apollo often features in my poems. It has to do with conveying the idea that what the poem has to say is nothing new but goes back centuries.  

Let’s not forget either that, according to various myths and legends, Apollo was bisexual. How can any gay writer who has an affinity with history and nature avoid making reference to such metaphors of old?

No one in the LGBT community should ever feel that he or she needs to apologise to anyone for their sexuality, whatever his or her socio-cultural-religious persuasion.

This poem is a villanelle.

NO APOLOGY FOR SEXUALITY

Once, Apollo came to me

in a godly light,

kissing me passionately

We made love feverishly,

and it felt right

once Apollo came to me

It was a divine intimacy

as he held me tight,

kissing me passionately

At dusk, a tearful apology

for taking flight;

Once, Apollo came to me...

No need for any apology

from you at night,

kissing me passionately

Grown old, love as feisty

as its first sunlight...

Once, Apollo came to me,

kissing me passionately

Copyright R. N. Taber 2009; 2012

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in On The Battlefields Of Love by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010. According to Greek mythology, Apollo was known to have both male and female lovers.]

.]

Hearsay

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

In May, I gave a special mention to the U.S. gay playwright Robert Patrick. I had a particular reason for this. You see, there was a time many years ago when I was young, I was on the streets. Thankfully, it was only for a short time. I will be 65 later this year and don’t think I could survive that kind of life for long again. So I was very sad to receive an email from Robert to say that his savings have reached ‘the point of no return’ and ‘unless the male/male XXX business recoups miraculously, I will be on the street as of November 1st. I haven't been on the streets since Albuquerque in 1959, and it wasn't pleasant then. I don't like to think what it's like now.’

I heard from him again only recently and it appears he has a reprieve until next spring. Meanwhile, though, I continue to share his apprehension.

You can, if you like, help by buying his DVD lecture on The Caffe Cino; the birthplace of gay theatre and other collectors’ items related to his life and work:

http://robertpatrickpersonal.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/lecture-on-dvd-caffe-cino-the-birthplace-of-gay-theatre/

To see over sixty pages of pictures from the first Off-Off Broadway theatre, and the cradle of gay theatre, the Caffe Cino (New York 1958-1968): http://caffecino.wordpress.com/

See also: MY THEATRIKAL KAREER - 1

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106603&id=614794354&l=832fffa610

MY THEATRIKAL KAREER -2

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=106608&id=614794354&l=a0adadb933

People like Robert Patrick have been clearing a path for gay people for years. We owe a lot to the likes of this man. He has given much of his life to people like us. Maybe now’s the time to give something back, yeah?

Meanwhile…

Here’s another poem from the Taber archives, written in 1963. I considered revising and updating it to make it more meaningful to today’s parents and young people. In the end, I decided to make just a few revisions, retaining the sentiment and much of the wording in the original poem, discovered among others in a pile of old exercise books last year. Hopefully, readers will think my struggle to decipher a schoolboy’s hieroglyphics as best I could was worth the effort.

Although I was in the closet at school, a few people asked me outright if I was gay and there was some gossip. It was a criminal offence in those days. Even so, to my shame, I denied my sexuality to most people and (worse!)  even tried to go straight. Regular readers may recall that I have said before how I was in and out of that damn closet for years before I finally came out to stay. [I honestly don't think I'd have waited so long if I had been born much later than 1945.]

Teenagers, arguably more than anyone, go some tough rounds with maturity. I may not have been out when I was seventeen but I wasn’t (quite) down either…

HEARSAY

Some say that Heaven’s got it in for me
because I’m gay,
that I should get a grip on morality
and look away
from a wicked history of homosexuality

Some say it’s sure to rain on my parade
because I’m gay,
that I should get a grip and not be afraid
to look away
from a life that puts devilry in the shade

Some say I’m flirting with hell’s flames
because I’m gay
and shouldn’t wonder we’re called names
day after day
who choose to play, oh, such queer games

Some ask, is it that I cannot or will not see
what it is to be gay,
chasing lepers’ shadows, the worse misery
because they’re gay,
don’t I realise I am my own worst enemy?

I simply point to the sun coming out for me
not because I’m gay
but (bisexual) Apollo wasn’t one for bigotry
and if old gods fade away,
there’s still a lot to be read into mythology…

There is no way any Heaven has it in for me
because I’m gay,
believing wholeheartedly in the right to be
however it is we may
relate to our colour, creed, sex and sexuality

Copyright R. N. Taber 1963; 2010