A Walk on the Dark Side

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

“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.” - Plato

“Where ignorance is our master, there is no possibility of real peace.” - Dalai Lama

“Where there is charity and wisdom, there is neither fear nor ignorance.” - Francis of Assisi “Prejudice is the child of ignorance.” - William Hazlitt 

“Violence isn't always evil. What's evil is the infatuation with violence.” - Jim Morrison

“My mother said I must always be intolerant of ignorance but understanding of illiteracy, that some people, unable to go to school, were more educated and more intelligent than college professors.”- Maya Angelou

Now, few things encourage anger among populations worldwide than instability and where there is instability, there is invariably a rising discontent which, in turn, encourages anger, even violence. The world is anything but stable at the moment, especially with the war in Ukraine resulting in an economic crisis just about everywhere.

Here in the UK, Rishi Sunak has been voted our new prime minister – our third this year! – by Tory MP’s, while other parties and much of the population had been calling for a General Election. While I, personally, think Sunak is a good choice, the fact remains that he does not have a mandate; the political argument put forward by the Conservative Party that it does have mandate, having been voted into power at the last General Election, neither impresses nor convinces most people. After all, the world is a very different place than it was in May, 2019!

We have seen a significant rise of violence on the streets as well as domestic violence since Covid-19 arrived. Given the further threat of a possible flu/ Covid pandemic this winter, as well as a world financial crisis, it is hardly surprising that cases of reported violence appear to be rising. As for unreported cases... who knows?

A WALK ON THE DARK SIDE

I listen, but do not always hear,
look, but do not always see what is there,
only what I expect to find
in the deeper, darker recesses of a mind
fed half-truths and fake news,
manipulated by destructive life forces
supposedly meaning well,
while making use of such stereotypical images
as would rewrite history’s pages

Born innocent, only to be exposed
to a cowardly rhetoric of prejudice and hate
insinuating mind-body-spirit
with misinformation, fake news and such views
as expounded to win over
the less perceptive, least enlightened
among humanity, nurturing
prejudice and violence to home in on a humanity,
with a predilection for profanity 

I turn common sense on its head, sanity
made to give way to such false interpretations
of self-education, perpetuated
by the absence of love, kindness, caring
for one another, all virtue
portrayed as weakness to the vulnerable,
by any who walk on the Dark Side,
waging war with and for every human heart-and-soul,
manipulators and manipulatable

I am Ignorance, listening out for a wiser, kinder voice;
peace or violence, an all but interchangeable choice

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

[Note: this post-poem appears on both poetry blogs today, as I feel it is relevant and feedback suggests that many LGBT readers remain cautious of only having access to shared computers.] RT 

Keeper of the Light

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

“There are hundreds of paths up the mountain, all leading to the same place, so it doesn’t matter which path you take. The only person wasting time is the one who runs around the mountain, telling everyone that his or her path is wrong.” – Hindu Proverb 

“… where Beauty was, nothing ever ran quite straight which, no doubt, which was why so many people looked on it as immoral.” – John Galsworthy

“Re-examine all you have been told. Dismiss what insults your soul.” – Walt Whitman 

 “Beauty awakens the soul to act.” Dante Alighieri

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.” – John Keats

Now, we all have good and bad memories, but the reason why happier times will always get the better of and rise above the worst is invariably due to an active inner eye and ear focusing on the kinder aspects of heart-and-soul which, by its very nature, will always home in on the positive rather than the negative; the key is, of course to keep focusing on the former, no matter how tough the going may get. 

Yes, sometimes we fail, but where there is life, there always  really is hope… in our hands, be it, no one else’s; any help along the way is always much appreciated, if not always acknowledged at the time....

KEEPER OF THE LIGHT

I see only what I can feel;
though my eyes may well argue
the truth of this,
they cannot win, for the inner eye
sees all that matters
to keep such true faith with me
as exists way beyond
any worldly processes of part or whole
that come to hunt us all

To know me is to love me 
or prove my enemy and yours,
a united front
comprising secret jealousies,
frustrations and rage
that can neither  possess me
nor find an equal
to compare with such mixed a passion
as the poetry of imagination

Hunted, haunted, good-bad
lost and found again, it is I inspires
a greater humanity
to endure, urging all its kind
keep faith with me; 
though Memory’s whim may take us 
here, there, everywhere,
it is for love of me that it can but prevail
for messaging heart-and-soul

I am called Beauty, humanity’s inner eye
on the kinder face of eternity

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

[Note: This poem-post also appears on my general poetry blog today. Although feedback suggests that more LGBT readers are dipping into both blogs, feedback makes clear that some share a computer and are not ready to be open about their sexual orientation.]

Hello again from London UK

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

“Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” – Robert Frost

“Poetry lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar.” – Percy Bysshe Shelley

“Yet, it is true, poetry is delicious; the best prose is that which is most full of poetry.” – Virginia Woolf

“A poet can survive everything but a misprint.” Oscar Wilde 😉

Hello again from London UK,

Sorry, no poem today as I am not well at the moment. I have one in mind, though, so hopefully soon…

I always value reader’s comments and criticism; although I block them on the blogs, I can always  emailed at; rogertab@aol.com. I try to reply to all genuine emails, but please put ‘Poetry’ in the subject field or it may well end up in my spam folder.

Reader C. J. has commented with regard to my latest poem that “…if The Lie is meant to be a kenning, it isn’t because a kenning requires nine nines and a couplet and The Lie has only eight lines…” Many thanks for that, C. J. but it is not intended to be a kenning.  I have every respect for ‘form’ but am inclined to ignore it from time to time. 

Rightly or wrongly, I feel that couplets provide the reader (and poet) with a neat ending as well as helping to make clear what the poem is about and what prompted the writing of it in the first place.

On the subject of form, I should perhaps return to a frequent criticism regarding the absence of a period or full stop at the end of each stanza. I simply feel, as I have always felt since enjoying poetry even as a child, that it interrupts the flow of a poem; what is considered ‘grammatically correct’ is not always in a poet’s interest.

Anyone who has read any of my poetry volumes will know that, at the time, I tried using prepositions at the end of lines further flow; this was a misjudgement on my part which I have not repeated on my poetry blogs. 

C. J. also asks “… what prompted you to start up a gay as well as general poetry blog?”

Well, at the time there was not a lot of gay-interest poetry available. I wasn’t sure if there would be much interest out there. I also lacked self-confidence. A boost to my confidence came when I was privileged to participate in sculptor Antony Gormley’s ‘Live art” One and Other project on the 4th plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square in 2009. It was my first public reading of my own poems and I included some gay poems; the audience below seemed to enjoy it and I went on to give other readings, mostly in public libraries here in London and around the country.

I hope to celebrate my 80th birthday in 2025 by giving a public poetry reading, but having been living with prostate cancer for some years now as well as other health issues that accompany the process of growing old, I am counting no chickens. 

Now, I am hoping to find a publisher for revised editions of my earlier collections. I have had to self-publish in the past because no UK publisher that I approached showed any interest, possibly because I insisted on including gay-interest as well as general poems. However, since the publication of my last collection, Tracking the Torchbearer in 2012, both general and gay poetry blogs have proven popular with readers; according to Blogger statistics, total views for the former now stands at nearly 210,00 and 160,000+ respectively. So, fingers crossed…

Many thanks as always for dropping by, folks,

Take care, stay safe and keep well,

Back again soon with a new poem,

Hugs,

Roger 

[Note: This post also appears on my gay-interest blog today] RT

Keyword, Pride

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

 “What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains.” - Tennessee Williams

“Love demands expression. It will not stay still, stay silent, be good, be modest, be seen and not heard, no. It will break out in tongues of praise, the high note that smashes the glass and spills the liquid.” — Jeanette Winterson

 “Personally, coming out was one of the most important things I’ve ever done, lifting from my shoulders the millstone of lies that I hadn’t even realized I was carrying.” – Sir Ian McKellan

“I’m living by example by continuing on with my career and having a full, rich life, and I am incidentally gay.” - Portia de Rossi

Now, today celebrates fifty years of Pride, LGBT+ folks defying the prejudices of certain world societies and religions to demonstrate a sense of pride and spirituality in being human, nor any less so for their sexuality.

As as regular readers know, I am in my mid-seventies and, like many others around the world, having to deal with various health issues as well as those that too often accompany the process of growing old(er).  I cope ok(ish), but suspect that I could not have done so had I not eventually seen my way to turning my back on the multiple, offensive faux stereotypes that attempted to define us when I was growing up in the 1950’s. I regret waiting too long to look, the world in the eye as a gay ma, but... better late than never.

Tragically, for various socio-cultural reasons, many LGBT+ folks around the world still feel obliged to endure the appalling loneliness and pain of a closet existence.

Coming out of that closet, made me a better person, but not before it had wrought such psychological damage on me that, even now, continues to inflict such nightmares from time to time as I would not wish on anyone, anywhere.

KEYWORD, PRIDE

Drawn to a bar 
neither gay nor straight,
all-comers welcome,
a pint of beer calling me
I could not ignore,
a growing need for company
at the heart of me

Soon, engaging 
with a stranger, no strangers
for long, but chatting
like old friends, laughing
over trite anecdotes,
welcome respite after a long day,
let slip, I was gay

Misreading his look
of surprise, a sense of déjà vu,
hackles set to rise
but for friendly lips breaking
into a wry, sensual grin,
makings of a non-judgemental,
heart-and soul

“How long?” he asked
quietly, but with as casual an air
as if he'd been asking
if I’d had a good day at the office;
I felt my face turning red,
yet urged to answer the truth of it
by mind-body-spirit

“None of my business,"
it was his turn to admit, “but more
than curious if you get
my drift…?  " I merely shrugged,
ventured a shy grin;
we chatted on, twin passions inviting
mutual understanding

Lovers, exploring a braver new world, 
keyword, Pride…

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

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

A Place in the Sun

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

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” –  James  Baldwin

“Differences don’t just threaten and divide us. They also inform, enrich, and enliven us.”  – Harriet Lerner   

“Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove.” – William Shakespeare                                                               

Now, in the early 1980’s, I got chatting to a young man slumped on a park bench who, with more than a little encouragement, told me he’d finally got around to telling his Catholic family he was gay; it hadn’t gone down well and he’d been thrown out. 
“I sort of died, you know…I mean to say…I honestly thought they would still love me,” he sobbed
“So where are you living now?” I asked
“With a friend,” he said, “But it’s not working out…”
“So, why not go home?” I suggested, “Your family may feel differently now.”
“As if...! He glared at me as if it was all my fault
.I shrugged and hoped it did not betray a stab of apprehension. “At least you can’t die twice,” I said with a wry grin.
“Maybe,” was all he said before he jumped up and ran off.
Years later, a guy ran across the road, dodging traffic and shouting “Oi, you with the cap on…!
I stopped, not a little panicky. “Are you talking to me?”
“Yeah,” he paused, “You haven’t a clue who I am, have you?” I shook my head.
“Regent’s Park, a good ten years ago…” I remembered.  “You were right.”
“And you risked life and limb to tell me that?” I chuckled, a little nervously, but reassured by his wide grin. 
“That, and to ask if you fancy a beer, my treat?”

I most certainly did., part of me hoping we would stay in touch afterwards, the greater part of me certain we wouldn’t. I was, after all, part of a freefalling emotional landscape he had risen above and moved on. We found a pub, enjoyed a few beers, even hugged when we said our goodbyes.

I've neither seen nor heard from him again, but wish him well, along with all LGBT+ men and women and such families, too, from all walks of life, following whatever religion, who are yet able to agree to differ, if only for the sake of those they love.  

A PLACE IN THE SUN

There is place where the sun
always shines, sometimes watery
sometimes splendidly,
no matter the season or time of day, 
and I go there whenever a need 
to sift through such mixed feelings
as dragging me down,
find reasons to rediscover Apollo’s splendour,
re-engage with Earth Mother

Wandering dark rooms, scared
and feeling so alone, tears refusing
to fall for no other reason
than no reason at all, a robot having lost 
its data due to a malfunction,
humanity all but given up on one 
of its own, yet a heart
beating there as if to remind me I’m but human,
not a mindless machine

Human spirit, anxious to reunite
with mind and body, separation a burden
grown intolerable, life forces
driven to desperate measures, mining memories 
buried under layers of pain,
eventually bringing bare bones of hope
to the surface, looking to recharge
restore, rework a natural process of regeneration
default, ‘live’ imagination

Found, sunshine come to help mend
mind-body-spirit, insisting heart-and-soul
slowly but surely start building
a new life, within much the same frame as the old,
encouraged by Earth Mother
to let such positives back in as refuse to let us 
surrender to self-pity and despair,
but embraces the world for its kinder consciousness,
default, love-and-peace

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

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

Notes on Real Time

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

Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and makes the present inaccessible. – Maya Angelou

“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”- Nelson Mandela

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.” – Edith Wharton

Now, it is great news that professional footballer, Jake Daniels, who plays for Blackpool has told the world he is gay, and at the age of 17 years. 

Wow! He makes cowards of those like me. As regular readers will know, I had realised I am gay by the time I was 14, but was not openly so until my 30’s. My family had their suspicions, of course, but I got the impression they preferred as quiet a life as possible and I wasn't about to open up without some encouragement. Oh, I had my reasons (don’t we all?) but there is no reasoning with our fears; until we at least try to get the better of them, I guess we might as well be living in caves.

Sexuality is not a lifestyle choice but a vital part of who we are, straight, gay, whomsoever; just as others must choose to love or malign us, so, too, must we, ourselves. 

NOTES ON REAL TIME

I hid in a cave, scared
to come out for fear of hunters
enjoying such sport
with the likes of me as would serve
their boasts, see us
roasted on a spit, no reasoning a need
to dance away their years
with adept footwork, admired by one and all,
least access to heart-and-soul

Once, almost caught,
concrete jungle sounding its pursuit
of me with gleeful horn
and harrowing peals of expectation,
like church bells
at a wedding, feeding on as well as into
mixed feelings, under a cover
of joie-de-vivre, no one likely to spoil the fun,
be thought a killjoy by anyone

Finally, grown weary
of dark caves with only untried fears
for poor company,
I gave mind-body-spirit full access
to heart-and-soul,
listened intently to an intense exchange
of rights and wrongs, likely gains
and losses, the former winning (eventually)
for reasoning a need to be free

Who dares braves the worst in dream after dream,
has yet to discover the best of real time

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

[Needless to say, this post-poem also appears on my general poetry blog today for those in the LGBT+ community who cannot or will not agree that poetry is poetry just as people are people...whatever and whosoever.] RT

 

 

A Small World

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

“Equality means more than passing laws. The struggle is really won in the hearts and minds of the community, where it really counts.” – Barbara Gittings

“Love him and let him love you. Do you think anything else under heaven really matters?” – James Baldwin

“Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it’s a good place to start.” – Jason Collins

Hi folks, sorry, I have been unable to post this poem sooner, but my prostate cancer leaves me with little energy some days, so much so that I am unable even to look on the bright(er) side of life! While I always rally the more positive life forces to my rescue in time, how long it takes them to arrive depends on how soon various other health issues settle down.😉

The poem is based on a fairly recent conversation with a complete stranger with whom I got chatting on a bus while stuck in a traffic jam. It struck a chord with me since, as I have mentioned before on the blog, I once had a schoolboy crush on a prefect at the same school, but was too scared in those days to emerge from my life-sucking closet. It would be half a century later that he’d get in touch after reading this blog and reveal that, even at the time, he, too, was gay. 

Sadly, that was way back in the (very) homophobic 1950’s and he never ventured from the closet they shoved him into, slamming the door after him with the kind of contempt that ignorance continues to breed even in what we would expect to be a more enlightened 21st century.

A SMALL WORLD

It was broad daylight, a watery sun
shedding auras on a local park,
as if determined to resist dark clouds
closing in even as I walked,
eyes wide open, as mind-body-spirit
fought its daily battle,
albeit seemingly poorly armed,
struggling to fend off darker clouds of its own
than in any heaven

I spotted a neighbour I knew, but not well,
reading a book on a nearby seat,
paused, just to say hello, to be greeted
with a smile inviting me
to linger, if only to pass the time of day,
so I did, compelled
by an increasingly darkening mood
to lighten up, conversation invariably a good start
for any human heart

We made small talk, both of us struggling
for something to say besides
wishing potential storm clouds away, sky
taking sides with a sun,
trying to make life a sight better 
for everyone, open invitation
to look on the brighter side of life,
make it more than worth the living, no matter what,
go with mind-body-spirit

Without thinking, I said, “I’m gay, you know."
“No, I didn’t." he said absently,
without turning a hair, surprise registering
in face and voice, that’s all,
no indication his heart-and soul (or mine)
thought any worse of me for it,
but leading him to gently ask questions,
less curious than  interested, no hint of any prejudice
likely to come between us 

Even so, I waited, curious to see just how long
it would take for a storm to break,
relieved to relate how I’d been afraid to say
the words, I’d just dared say,
scarcely believing it hadn’t been as hard
as nightmares had foretold,
my mood shifting for the better, clouds too,
clearing to give the sun a kinder view of the world below,
such as lets its flowers grow

Later, as we parted after agreeing to meet again,
I found the words to thank him
For not minding I’m gay in a world where one
Meets prejudice as often as not,
Mind-body-spirit wary of putting heart-and-soul
In any potential danger,
World politics and religions sowing seeds
of doubt in a vulnerable human nature at every opportunity
to address a ‘common humanity’

“Sorry!”, he laughed, “but I honestly thought you knew,
my brother went to school with you, and he’s gay too…”

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

Hi folks, from London UK

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

“If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain.”  - Emily Dickinson

Hi, folks from London UK

Sorry, no poem today, but I am working on a new gay-interest poem that I will post here once completed.

Meanwhile, a friend’s work colleague recently recommended the poems of Richard Bruce Nugent, a gay American writer/painter:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Bruce_Nugent   

I love his poem 'Shadow’: https://poets.org/poem/shadow  At the time, many readers believed the poem was about race, but in a 1983 interview, Nugent explained that, “I intended it to be a soul-searching poem of another kind of lonesomeness, not the lonesomeness of being racially stigmatized, but otherwise stigmatized. You see, I am a homosexual.”

Now, a yet another reader has emailed to ask why “… you only seem to post poems on your general poetry blog these days?” well, sorry about that, but if you explore the blog archives, there are many gay-interest poems there that you may well enjoy; as I have explained before, I don’t enjoy good health these days and my energy levels leave much to be desired. Besides, many of the poems in my other blog have been essentially inspired by my experience of life, not least being an ‘out’ gay man unable to forget the traumatic days of living half a life in the closet.  Indeed, I feel very encouraged by the occasional email from readers who enjoy dipping into both poetry blogs.

The ‘sister of a gay man’ writes that: “My brother is a changed man since he started reading your gay poetry blog, having felt encouraged to let family and friends know he is gay. He is more confident and sociable where, before, he was very withdrawn.” What can I say but many thanks for that… and refer to the Emily Dickinson quote above.

As regular readers of either or both poetry blogs will know, growing up in 1950’s Britain. which was very homophobic and racist, made a coward of me regarding my sexuality. I did not see my way to coming out as a gay man until my early 30’s.  Sadly, both homophobia and racism persist in various communities worldwide, far less so among young people, though, in whom rest our hopes of an end to all prejudices in time.

That’s all for now, folks. I just wanted to let you know haven’t forgotten just how much I owe to being a gay man and wanting to share its positives. Male or female, we are who we are and what we make of ourselves, whether or not we are able to turn our dreams into reality. I used to think of myself as a failure because my dreams of becoming a ‘great’ poet/ novelist we clearly unfounded, but am more than content with a very modest degree of success. Whatever, as Prospero says in Shakespeare’s The Tempest: “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”

Bye for now, folks, and here’s wishing you all a feel-good day,

Hugs,

Roger

L-G-B-T+, Life Forces

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

"Openness may not completely disarm prejudice, but it's a good place to start." Jason Collins

On my general poetry blog, I have been posting poems related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.  New reader, J.H. has emailed me, to express disappointment in my not publishing a new poem here during LGBT History month. He also reports that LGBT friends living in Ukraine have good reason to dread, perhaps more than most, what will happen to them should their country come under Russian control.

Apologies, on both points. On the first, my only excuse is being in my late 70's now and left all but impotent by years of hormone therapy for my prostate cancer. My imagination was more fertile during the years I was sexually active and I'm glad you enjoyed many of the poems you have accessed in the blog's archives.

Regarding your gay friends in Ukraine, we can but hope a Ukraine under Russian control will not reflect what would appear to be a majority view in Russia against same sex relationships.  I am told it isn’t easy to be gay in Ukraine, but LGBT folks are mostly left in peace and free to demonstrate for Equal Rights.

Now, I am posting a poem here today whose themes will be familiar, but I hope will resonate with any readers anywhere who feel - for whatever reason - unable to come out to family and friends. Been there, done that, and am still haunted by the experience some 60+ years on.

I think it was in 1914 when Jason Collins made sporting history by being the first professional athlete to declare publicly that he was gay; stigma all but removed, others followed his lead.

I well recall how I had just left school when I discovered Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin on my local library shelves; it was first novel I read that reassured me that being gay is no sin, but as natural as breathing. 

I'd known I was gay since I was 14 years old, but to my shame, it would be another twenty years before I began to look the world in the eye as a gay man. I would not wish a closet existence such as I endured during those in-between years on my worst enemy.

Thankfully, many people, especially young people, are more inclined to take a person’s sexuality in their stride these days, being more interested in the person than his or her private life.

Sadly, some people, including followers of certain religions, remain as judgemental as ever of we LGBT folks and are essentially homophobic. Their powers that be will deny it, of course, but I have met many a good person whose religion has made them feel they must not only choose between Faith and Family, but between their sexuality and the sense of spirituality with which their religion has inspired them.

As I have said many times on my poetry blogs, and in my poems, no religion has a monopoly on spirituality nor the right to dictate how mind-body-spirit should feel.

While I mean no disrespect to any religion, having met some wonderful people from all walks of life, during my 70+ years, I can but ask as I have asked repeatedly on both poetry blogs - whatever happened to agreeing to differ?

L-G-B-T+, LIFE FORCES

I once ran for cover
into a dark lonely closet for fear
of faux stereotypes
always camped outside my door
awaiting an opportunity
to gobble me up, if only if only
to spew me out again
into a mucky trough of public opinion
as it was way back then

Years passed. I emerged
from what I’d taken to be safety,
but proven wrong
by an active mind-body-spirit’s
ever challenging me
to be my own man, face prejudice
and bigotry head-on,
remind the world that gay’s not a word
but a living, feeling person

Now, I grow old, the world
a kinder place for the most part,
yet faux stereotypes
continue to thrive, would have me
put down for the ‘sin’
of being my own person, embracing
a sense of spirituality
and close kinship with nature and humanity
some would yet deny me

Come a time, I must look
death in the face, I shall find peace
of a kind, still denied
such as I in communities worldwide
betraying a life force
without equal, giving truth a bad name,
insisting we hang our heads
in shame for freeing mind-body-spirit of fetters
imposed by our ‘betters’

So, to whom the wiser soul
among those who strive to negotiate
life’s open mazes,
he or she who would follow natural instinct
for all they may be outlawed
or worse, accused of sacrilege, blasphemy.
for but staying true
to mind-body-spirit by choosing to ignore those
promoting faux news

Spirituality is no competition,
as certain religions would have us see it,
any reward in Heaven
due only to those who consent to subscribing
to such ways of Believing
as set in stone, yet no God of Love
nor Earth Mother
would, surely, reject or condemn any LGBT person
for coming into their own

Our differences don’t make us different, only human
in the all-seeing eye of self-perception

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

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

 

 

 

 

Home Sown

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

“In any moment in time, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” – Theodore Roosevelt

After two years of having to cope with the stresses imposed on us all by the ever-present (but hopefully decreasing) threat of Covid-19, many of us are on a short fuse; frustration, anger, and confusion just three of the triggers to a flame that could see any one of us light the darn fuse any time...

No gay-specific poem again today, I'm afraid; you need to explore the blog archives for most of those,  As regular readers will know, inspiration of that nature rarely strikes since being diagnosed with prostate cancer some years ago..  

Tragically anyone may find themselves a target of verbal and/ or physical abuse, including those of us in the LGBT community especially, too, while stress levels in general remain high and inclined to feed on such darker aspects of human nature as its prejudices, not least homophobia, among others,. 

Somehow, we need to bear in mind that where there are negatives, there are invariably positives, even if the latter appear to be in short supply in any Here-a kinder future beckons us all as mind-body-spirit knows only too well as it encourages us to focus.

Focus but a blur? We can do a lot worse than take our cue from Earth Mother, promising any winter of the human heart yet more of the joys of spring... all in good time, rarely just when we need them most, although a promise is a promise, a lifeline in any crisis.

 Oh, and no, this isn’t just a poet imposing the gloss of pretty rhetoric on hard times, but the voce of personal experience. Testing times, indeed, certain darker life forces, but Mind-Body-Spirit can and will overcome them; we but need to focus on and believe in the power of positive thinking to see us through to happier times.

Yes, dear readers, I draw yet again on the old adage ‘Better late than never...”; trite, indeed, it may well sound, but so true...

HOME SOWN

One sunny wintry day,
messaging a not-too-distant coming
of another spring...
we’d take stroll, just you and I,
in leafless woods
where home birds would be singing
in its trees, a hint of buddings here and there
alleviating human despair

A long winter, it had been,
dragging us, protesting loud and clear,
to abyss, after abyss,
free-fall, but a (very) near miss,
leaning on each other,
holding hands, not least to get the better
of any doubts, nurture hopes, treating any fear
with tender loving care...

Apollo, always smiling through
the troubles of world and personal space,
messaging the hope
of kinder days yet, rescuing us
not least from the worst
of ourselves, giving misty-eyed hearts
cause to open wide, let in the world – and focus;
the rest, down to us...

In winter, be sure that any silver linings to be seen
are home sown...

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

[Note: The above poem appears on both poetry blogs today.] RT

Destination, By-and-By

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

Today's poem started out with me revising a poem to which I had given the title Strangers on a Train; the original written in 1994, it appeared on the blog once, but has since disappeared. However, as I progressed with the 'revision', the poem took on a new life of its own and became an altogether different poem to the one I was working on, ceasing to be a revised version at all.

While creating the poem, a conversation I had recently overheard in a supermarket  came to mind. Two woman were discussing a mutual friend who had apparently "been round the block a few times" and been married three times although  it appears the third time was to her first husband. "Can you believe it? the couple were asking, "It makes a mockery of marriage, love too..."

Could I believe it? Oh, yes, I could. Human nature is called upon to adapt to all kinds of changes in circumstances as time passes; some of us adapt to these changes, others don't, won't or can't. reason the need.

Any change in circumstances invariably results in changes in our behaviour, for better or worse; such changes mat well only be temporary, maybe not. Just as we need to adapt so, too, we ask that others will adapt accordingly, bear our new circumstances in mind and, hopefully, make allowances where  appropriate; it can sometimes  be a lot to ask of family, friends, work colleagues; some of whom will prove understanding and supportive while others will rush to judgement and  waste no time making their opinions known... 

My mother told me much the same thing once. When the boy, Roger, asked why that should be so, she simply sighed and said, "Such are the vagaries of life and human nature, dear..." to which my only response at the age of about 11 years was to ask what the word' 'vagaries' meant!  With hindsight, 60+ years on, I would have done better to have pursued the matter in hand, if only because it may well  have better prepared me for the many faces of adult life, warts 'n' all...

As regular readers will know, I was in my early 30's before I came out to everyone as a gay man after years of only partly feeling alive in a closet that, yes, was self-imposed, but many false and misleading stereotypes  - and the many, many people I knew taken in by them -  had, I thought, left me no choice.

Ah, but there is always a choice. The tragedy is that human nature is often inclined to make mountains of making right or wrong choices for the right or wrong reasons; a greater tragedy, perhaps, is that some of us are not good climbers... ?

DESTINATION, BY-AND-BY

Met someone on a train,
(years ago, seems but yesterday)
heading away from things,
places and people held dear,
nor less so for Fate
come knocking on my door
taking me for a fool, leading me on,
the more so for letting you in

I told myself it was a devil
on my shoulder, urging me bolder,
especially as I grew older,
felt a need to show the world
I’m not afraid of it,
playing deaf-blind to inner ear
and eye, inclined to re-invent the truth
about the vagaries of youth

So, we danced all night long
and the devil on my shoulder sang
“To hell with what’s right
or wrong... We have but one life,
let’s have some fun,
and where’s the harm in that?”
None,” said I, always up for the chance
of its embracing romance

Romance, indeed, would see us
rise, fall and rise again as life saw fit
to deal us blows, make-up kisses,
and also-rans, as many mixed feelings
as lively passions
keeping us together, leading us astray
our hearts leaning on and loving each other,
home truths at odds with one another

Ah, but inevitably, a dark winter
of the heart sure to miss out on spring,
never to watch Apollo
bring trees to leaf again, flowers to bloom,
smiles to human faces
for giving high hopes their head,
despite Fate’s taking liberties with any of us
defying even the Spirit of Togetherness

At a loss after our last farewell,

so caught the first train to Anywhere;
a stranger (oddly familiar)
caught my eye, listened to my life history,
empathised (without resorting
to platitudes) urging I learn to live,
even love again, the face in a train window
of that same You-Me-Us I’d got to know

Emerging from a long tunnel, Face and I
our Fate, promised to Apollo by-and-by

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2021

Hi folks, from London UK

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

" It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live." - Dalai Lama XIV

 "I don't believe in collective guilt, but I do believe in collective responsibility.” - Audrey Hepburn

Hi Folks,

No poem today, but I am working on one. Mind you, inspiration is flagging at the moment as I am still having to deal with a bad cold. I have started to feel better over the last couple of days, but inspiration doesn't seem to have taken the hint...😉 However, I remain coronavirus-free, so am still able to keep looking on the bright(er) side of life... well, most of the time.😊

I have been able to get out and about locally just for basic shopping, but while the Omicron variant remains rampant, it is scary, so I try to go as early as I can to avoid crowds. 

 Now,  while wearing a mask won't necessarily stop anyone catching  Covid BUT it will stop a person spreading it. At 76 years old and living with prostate cancer, I am vulnerable, so hate it when people get too close to me in a queue, especially if they are not wearing a mask. Unfortunately, many stores no longer have the floor markings to show how people can remain at least two metres apart.

If someone has genuine medical reasons for not wearing a mask, fair enough, but it does not excuse that person getting too close to others in a queue. This happened to me only yesterday. I was queuing at a supermarket checkout.  I asked a Muslim woman queuing behind me with her grown-up daughter not to stand so close to me in the queue; neither were wearing face masks. The woman took no notice, just glared at me and I hear someone say "Racist." I was angry, but managed to keep my temper and moved away as soon as I had finished loading my shopping bag.

Now, I am not a racist and if someone chooses not to wear a mask for any reason, that is up to them BUT where their not wearing a mask potentially and directly affects me, I reserve the right to protest. It seems to be a fairly common problem everywhere. While Omicron continues to spread and fill hospitals, social distancing remains important for all of us, especially with regard to those people who are not wearing face masks. 

Given that data appears to show that the vast majority of people who are critically ill in hospitals are those who have not been been vaccinated, I can no more understand the reasoning behind not being vaccinated that not wearing a face mask in shops, on public transport and in crowded areas. Such is human nature, I suppose, sometimes wise and wonderful, sometimes plain stupid. 

Celebrities from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds have appeared on television to persuade others to get vaccinated against Covid-19; it beggars belief that a significant percentage of  populations in various parts of the UK  have chosen to remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus. Data suggests that the majority of the unvaccinated are from ethnic minority backgrounds. (No, I am not being racist it is a fact.) 

Collective responsibility is for the good of everyone and rejects discrimination of all kinds except on grounds of an individual's bad or criminal behaviour.. . well, doesn't it?

Hopefully, the coronavirus will pass sooner rather than later, but all the while certain people, from all walks of life, refuse to be vaccinated against it, the likelihood remains that is likely to be later rather than sooner. Don't the rest of us deserve better than that?

Now, whoever and wherever you may be in the world, I can but wish you all safe, well, and finding the inner strength of mind-body-spirit to nurture a positive-thinking mindset, whatever your personal  circumstances; never easy, I know only too well just as I know, too, that it's always well worth the effort.

Take care, everyone, and do drop by again soon. Meanwhile, you may enjoy browsing the blog archives?

Hugs,

Roger 

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

Anthem Played on a Grass Harp

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

Some years ago, the children of friends of mine married without the blessing of their parents because both sets of parents disapproved of the match because is a lot older than her. Neither could accept their grown-up children’s choice of life partner. As it is, they have missed out on all the pleasures of being grandparents and seeing their grandchildren grow up.

Among all prejudices, ageism is often seen as the ‘poor relation’ but it can devastate lives as much and as needlessly as any other form of prejudice, whether it be based on the colour of a person’s skin, the nature of their sexuality or... whatever.

The couple in question had celebrated their silver wedding anniversary and were very happy until the younger partner died in a car accident. Only then did the families rally round and try to make peace “for the sake of the grandchildren...” Better late than never, I suppose, but so much time wasted, so many golden opportunities missed.

Prejudice in any shape or form doesn’t only eat away at a person’s mind-body-spirit, however much he or she may resist and rise above it, but can destroy families, even communities that are the chief losers in a human equation that will never quite add up until certain people see sense and recognise that all good people have a right to live their lives as they see fit, whether or not it quite adds up to what others might prefer.

I have seen prejudice drive people to crime, even suicide; such a waste of human potential. Whatever happened to respecting and making the best of our loved one’s choices for the good of everyone concerned? Driving home a point from a which misplaced pride refuses to let us budge can so easily make losers of us all.

ANTHEM PLAYED ON A GRASS HARP

Watery sun dripping through trees,
leaves sparkling like jewels in a crown
where we’d wander, my love and I,
ears pricking up at a chick’s first cry,
looking out for others flapping their way
on first flights through dawn rainbows
till gliding with ease as nature meant
for us all, although less so among humans,
a species well known for thinking they
know better than Earth Mother, wishing
them ill (and Hell) who resist straitjackets
and persist in walking tall

On a magic carpet of many colours,
among daisies passing for fairies
in a palace of dreams, we’d go free,
where all prejudices and bigotry
mean less than a fair breeze in the face,
Earth Mother’s caress in the hair,
reminding us how we are, one and all,
as nature intended, no one creature
any more or less precious than another,
each, in their own way, a ‘live’
testament to mind-body-spirit and a history
lending meaning to eternity

We arrived where the carpet
tuned into stone, where no sun shining,
only Shadows, a gathering of forces
preparing to take humanity on and win
any fight it may choose to pick,
no matter rights and wrongs (or alternative
points of view); for them, a certainty
that the world has no place for men, women
and young people whose sexuality
offends a majority choosing to make stand
on a Ship of Fools in a gale force wind, set on
making sense of humankind

Oh, but spring in our hair like jewels in a crown
Love takes for its own!

Copyright R.N. Taber 2010; rev.2021

Note: This poem appears on both poetry blogs today and has recently been significantly revised since first appearing in my collection On the Battlefields of Love by R. N. Taber, Assembly Book, 2010.] 

Waking Up to Love

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

As I have pointed out many times on the blog, love comes in all shapes and sizes in both natural and human worlds, nor less natural in the latter for its being of an LGBT persuasion; sexuality is not a choice, but one of many elements of life and love that comprise the mind-body-spirit that makes us who we are.

In the past, many LGBT folks have been despised and become victims of prejudice and hate, not unlike many from ethnic minorities, albeit for reasons of race rather than sexuality, but no less horrible for that.

Even within similar arenas, prejudice has been (and still is) known to spread like a pandemic with which millions of people have been infected over centuries, relatively few given so much as a mention by name in any history book... even as history continues to write us up as its authors see (or don't see) its bigger picture.

As regular readers well know, I also have a gay-interest poetry blog which, like my fiction blog, can be accessed from this one. Tragically, such is the level of prejudice against LGBT folks in various societies,  communities and families worldwide that some dare nor risk accessing any such material that might 'incriminate' them; a tragedy, yes, because no one should have to live in fear or who (yes who, not what they are) as they struggle to make a life for themselves.  

The good news is that more LGBT folks across the world are having to struggle less to make their voices heard; the bad news is that far too many are still left struggling, not least due to the sheer hypocrisy of world religions that preach love, but only as recognised by their own criteria; anything else is seen as something to be condemned, as if any religion has a monopoly on spirituality.

If one person can learn to respect another person for who they are (whatever their faith,  or colour of their skin) why can't everyone?  Whatever happened to agreeing to differ?

Oh, and yes, this poem also appears on my general poetry blog today so daresay I will be receiving the usual troll emails...which I will, of course, ignore. 😉

"I imagine one of the reasons people cling to hate so stubbornly is  because they sense, once it is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain." - James Baldwin

WAKING UP TO LOVE

There's a tree in a field
that sings me a love song
every time I'm sitting
when, where it rises from the ground;
listen, and you'll hear...
the words of a love song hanging
on a dream lost and found

By a tree in a field,
we wrote our first love song,
bodies entwining
as we lay there on the ground,
sharing with the birds
such joy, such passion, hanging
on a dream lost and found

There's a tree in a field
that watched us kiss and part,
not daring to believe
as we lay there on the ground
how gay love might yet
survive a world left but hanging
on dreams lost and found

To a tree in a field,
we returned to live a love song,
bodies entwining
as we lay there on the ground,
sharing with the birds
such joy, such passion, a waking
dream lost and found

Copyright R. N. Taber 2008; slightly rev. 2021

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

Wake up, World, get Real

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

I haven’t added many gay-specific poems to the blog for some time, so here’s a new one that I am posting on both poetry blogs today. 

It isn't only about climate change that much of the world needs to stop dragging its feet and get real. 

Embracing an LGBT perspective on the world is never easy in so far as the world is full of bigots, some of whom hide behind their religion to justify their attitude towards the global consciousness that is LGBT, in spite of certain life forces that continue to conspire against it, including most world religions. 

The world's collective mindset has come a long way since I was a troubled gay teenager in the 1950's. Even so, we still have a long way to go before we can consider the gap well and truly truly closed between how we see ourselves and how the rest of the (straight) world sees us...but we are getting there, slowly but surely, and that has to count for a LOT.  

Meanwhile we can but continue to defy the homophobes and religious hypocrites... and get a life while encouraging LGBT folks in less enlightened societies and communities to rise above all that, in mind-body-spirit anyway, even where the closet door has to remain shut for safety's sake..

To suggest that LGBT folks cannot continue to be a part of a religious community to which they have given heart and soul has to count among the worst kinds of rejection. It is bad enough that some LGBT folks are (still) rejected by family and peers in all parts of the world, forcing many to live secret lives. Whatever happened to agreeing to differ and respecting each other rather than seeing the other party as an enemy, blasphemer or whatever...?

Now, as regular readers will know, I am in my mid-70’s now and having to contend with various health issues. I have to admit that I struggle to write poems these days, but I hope you will embrace this one in the spirit in which it was written, warts ‘n’ all.

WAKE UP, WORLD, GET REAL

We walked in a dream,
my true  love and I, crossed rainbows
into a paradise
where no faux stereotypes could expect
to survive long,
where secrets, lies and home truths
encouraged to escape
cold, dark, lonely closet lives,
look the world in the eye, have it welcome us
into a prejudice-free universe 

We lived in a dream,
my true love and I, feeling more each day
that it didn’t matter
we were gay, only that we should stay true
to a glad heart,
beating as strong as any other,
embracing all humanity, anxious to let
the LGBT ethic take a bow,
despite having been so often put down, abused,
in a universal Here-and-Now 

We woke from a dream,
my gay love and I, had to cross sword
with worldly bigots
and faux stereotypes, assuming a reality
all but surreal
in a mind-body-spirit that’s struck deaf-blind
by the very world it lives in,
one where all good people, wherever
and whoever, well deserve be free to live in peace,
each to their own, no prejudice 

We still share a dream,
my gay love and I, although he’s gone,
but still a part of me,
looking on with even more hope than pain
as history proceeds
to make much the same mistakes time
and time again...
Yet, there is a young generation, wise
beyond its years, accepting people as they are,
not as the bigot invariably sees 

It was and will always be
the way of dreamers to take their cue
from a way of life
that rushes not to judgement, taking care
to look to the inner self,
ask frank questions, draw upon honest answers
let actions speak louder
than words, demand we of human nature
demonstrate greater respect for Earth Mother, 
nor less so towards one another

LGBT, in all walks of life, a global consciousness
swathes of worldly conscience need to address 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

[Note: This poem also appears on my general poetry blog today; any new LGBT readers may like to explore  the archives (see right hand side of any posts.) To access my other poetry -and fiction - blogs, click on the scroll bar in the top right hand corner next to the blog title.] RT

  

 

 

 

 

 

A Hymn to Pantheism OR Redefining the Spirit of Nature

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

I live alone and am in my mid-70’s now so, like many if not most of us, have struggled with various health issues and to nurture a positive thinking mindset during the pandemic. Having had my Covid booster and flu jabs recently, I am starting to feel more confident when out and about in crowded places, shops and on public transport where I continue to wear a face mask; it is glaringly obvious that we are not out of the proverbial woods yet. 

Now, a new poem today rather than  another revision of an earlier one, prompted by reader M J who emailed to say he and his wife enjoyed the poetry reading I gave on the 4^th plinth in London’s Trafalgar Square back in 2009; it was my contribution to sculptor Antony Gormley’s ‘live’ sculpture project, “One and Other.” M J also asks “Do you still consider yourself a Pantheist?” Well, many thanks M J and the answer to your question is - yes, I do. 

While I respect anyone’s religious beliefs, I had never felt comfortable with religion. Raised as a Christian in the Baptist tradition, I could never truly relate to a personified God, even as a child. I first read about Pantheism in my mid-adult years and instantly engaged with it. 

Pantheists believed that God did not create nature, but is nature. I have always been able to engage with nature and experience a sense of spirituality from doing so. For this reason, I have always rejected criticism of my poetry for talking about spirituality when many readers would argue that ai am an atheist or agnostic because I don’t subscribe to any of the central world religions. 

Incidentally, in the course of my plinth reading, I told the crowd below that I was both gay and a Pantheist. Interestingly, I wasn’t heckled once during the whole hour.  What would social media trolls have to say about that, I wonder...?

A HYMN TO PANTHEISM or REDEFINING THE SPIRIT OF NATURE

Some pray to God, the Father,
who goes by many names,
yet, essentially, is much the same
in so far as He would have us learning
to love one another? 

Others lift up heart and voices
to Earth Mother, alias nature,
yet who’s to say the are not the same
in so far as both would have us at peace 
with one another r.? 

Some say God created nature
upon whom we depend
as we depend on one another to see us
through our time here on Earth, nurturing
mind-body-spirit 

World religions would separate
such inspiring life forces
to which He and She would see us bond
and nurture, yet some say we  are all of us
in ‘it’ together 

So, what is ‘it’, nurturing, inspiring,
all past-present-future,
nature and human nature learning how
to live together (or not, as the case may be)
and making history? 

Some say, God and Earth Mother
are so closely bound in spirit
and nurture that to engage with one
is to engage with the other, all part and parcel
of a common endeavour 

To each our own feeling for eternity,
a sense of spirituality
(independent of religion?) for seeing how
the kinder parts of nature and human nature
are the stuff of its poetry

 Copyright R. N. Taber, 2021

[Note: I don't relate to Pantheism simply because I'm gay, but my sexuality has certainly played its part since most world religions consider same sex relationships a sin. and would deny me the sense of  spirituality that, among other things, helps me cope with growing old, Whatever, this poem appears on both poetry blogs today.] RT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Titles from the Archives

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

Hello from London, UK

Several readers have emailed me to say they don't have time to browse the archives, so can U list some titles to which they can go directly. I am listing some here, and will provide some more titles in the hear future if readers seem to prefer it. So, you might like to try:

Taking the 'y' Out of Gay

Ordinary People

A Gay Dad's Story

Millions like Us

A Ballad for Gay Pride

Bus Fare

Children of the Willow

Engaging with James Baldwin

Divisions of the Heart

Engaging with Gender Identity

Mission Impossible

Out of Africa

Answering to Nature

Conspiracy of Faith 

Cops, Queers and Caravaggio

A deaf LGBT readers asks if I have written any poems about deafness; he or she might enjoy:

A Good Sign

Eyes of Desire

May I just say, though, that poetry - whatever its content - is all-inclusive and  non-judgemental; not everyone will like a particular poem, of course, but every poet tries to reach out to everyone. So, why a separate gay-interest poetry blog? Well, sadly, in all parts of the world (Yes, even in so-called 'enlightened' countries and communities) LGBT folks continue to face discrimination and worse...  

Take care, keep well and nurture as positive thinking a mindset as you can in the circumstances available to you. Oh, and remember, our sexuality makes us no different from anyone else and, likewise, deserving of  respect, not abuse.

Hugs,

Roger

PS If you find this post of interest and would like to know further titles in the archives that you can type in and access immediately, feel free to email me with POETRY in the subject field.

True Love Ways

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

Someone once asked me how , as a gay man, I can write love poems. Well, I ask you, does a silly question even deserve an answer? 

For a start, LGBT folks are as capable of love as anyone. Possibly, my questioner was confusing love with sex, as many people do. He may well choose to set himself up as judge and jury regarding our approach to that, but by what right does he do so? His religion may well condemn same sex relationships, but what justifies imposing his religious agenda on me?

Sex can be an expression of love, of course, but it's by no means the only one. Besides, love comes in all shapes and forms, as I have pointed out on the blog many times. We may well love family, friends, places, pets... in which neither sex nor gender (or sexuality) play any part whatever.

Love is a powerful emotion in both human and natural worlds, nor is it any less natural  in the former for same sex couples. No one chooses their sexuality, it is purely a matter of genetics. Why condemn same sex couples for something many if not most heterosexual couples take for granted? Bigotry - on religious grounds or narrow mindedness - causes considerable hurt to those it attacks, so much so that many LGBT folks are fearful of being open about their sexuality; yes, even in the 21st century! Fear (not shame) may well mean a closet existence, one I endured until my mid-30's  and, believe me that closet  gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Hell on Earth'.

Is saddens me so that I've met LGBT folks from all walks of life (yes, all walks of life) who risk losing family, friends, even their lives, not because of their sexual persuasion but as a result of bigoted, stereotypical perceptions of it. While it is encouraging to see less of the latter these days, we still have a long way to go before certain communities worldwide are ready to put them aside, if ever...

Yes, I've said all this before, especially on my other poetry blog, but - as my dear mother used to say -if something is worth saying, it has to be worth repeating.

Take care, keep well and be safe everyone.

            ( NB Image taken from the Internet.)

TRUE LOVE WAYS

Though Fate us part awhile
relax, enjoy a cup of tea
or a walk in the park, but smile
and laugh for thinking of me

Though Life us part awhile,
play a game, see a movie;
no moping, keeping a low profile;
move on, have fun, think of me

Whatever has us part awhile,
our love will keep us close;
so, no tears, just summon a smile,
be as dawn to a river as it flows

For engaging with life forces
and any blows they let fall,
there’s a You-Me-us of happiness,
able to defy, rise above them all

Let Death conspire against us
(with nothing better to do?);
Love, the stronger of all life forces,
will find ways to see us through

Whoever, in life, to a Heaven aspires
has but to nurture true love ways

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

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

WHY? or Placing the 'I' in Perception

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

Congratulations to all those participating in The Olympics. Only a fool would deny that it isn’t about winning and losing, just as only a fool would dare suggest it’s all about winning and losing; it’s the taking part that really counts, just being there. 

Much the same might well be said of life; it’s the being here that counts and giving it our best shot in whatever ways we can. So, some of us may fall short of the proverbial mark, so what mark might that be and who’s to say who put it there? Everyone will have an opinion, of course, and a world turning on opinions is healthy enough... until those opinions proceed to sow seeds of discontent, even aggression, doing more harm than good. 

As I have asked on the blogs time and again, whatever happened to agreeing to differ?

............................................

PARENT to CHILD: Why does it always have to be why this and why that with you? Why can't you just do as you're told?

CHILD (shrugs) Because...

WHY? or ON PLACING THE ‘I’ IN PERCEPTION 

I have winged the world
by day and night, let its beating heart
move us, now to such tears
of pain as embracing life forces can bring,
now for such years of joy
as teach the heart to sing in finest hours
of a personal space left free
to follow mind-body-spirit whenever inspired
by soulful prose and poetry 

I have sailed angry seas,
skimming waves incited to wreak havoc
among such creatures
great and small as dwell below, swim above,
or simply seek to cool
the heat of such everyday anxiety as likely
to attack humanity
at its every twist and turn as it seeks to do or die
in its quest to answer – why? 

By what human right do we
outlaw and deplore what we cannot share,
for wont of persuasion
or inclination of mind-body-spirit to enter into
for reasons sound and true,
while bringing the full force of judgement
on any who refuse to comply
with aspects of human behaviour most favoured by
this community, that society? 

Why do religions persist
with agendas that deny human beings a right
to embrace as free a spirit
as gave us birth, let us bond with Earth’s
seas and skies, trees and flowers,
birds and beasts, encouraging such inner sight
as can penetrate surfaces
considered plain, even ugly, for left running scared
of all its formative years foretold? 

Life is life, death is death,
such is the way of all creatures great and small,
though human perceptions vary;
similarly, love is love in whatever shape or form,
nor ours to condemn
for its appealing neither to religious dogma
nor personal agenda,
but deserving thanks for sharing such fine showpieces
as wing eternal in its You-Me-Us 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

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

Hello again, folks, from London UK

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

Hello again folks, from London UK

No poem today, but I am working on one, not only for you all but for me too. As with most people, the pandemic continues to taken its toll on yours truly. As if growing old and living alone was not enough to contend with, I find myself struggling to rise above the kind of depression that comes with battling various health issues - not least, my prostate cancer - on a daily basis.

At least I understand the nature of what I what I am up against and do so with a hopeful heart. Some battles are beyond understanding, prejudice being one of them. Prejudice against another human being is a sickness I find very hard to understand, and I am not speaking simply as a gay man.

Those who nurture feelings of racism, sexism, any kind of hate form against another human being simply because they don't like colour of their skin, their gender or the  nature of their sexuality... or whatever... is beyond all understanding.

Not for the first time, I received complaints about my last post along the lines that "... a gay-interest poem has no place on a 'supposedly' general poetry blog." That may well be true, but the motivation behind a poem is every bit important as the poem itself.

There are many men and women out there to whom the faith in which they were raided remains important to them even if they discover during puberty that they are of an LGBT+ persuasion, which most religious dogma condemns. Homosexuality and gender identity are no less a part of the human condition than any  mind-body-spirit that identifies with and feels a compelling empathy with the religion in which they have been raised.

Another reader has emailed to complain that "As you say you are not religious yourself, how can you, a godless person, justify a poem that is a religious allegory - of sorts..."

Hopefully I have explained if not justified the reason for the poem in the previous paragraph and other blog posts. As for my being a "godless" person, I have never claimed to be one, except in the way most world religions would have it. Pantheists believe that God is nature, not its creator. 

Anyone who has experienced as intimate an affinity with nature as with a God that not only doesn't discriminate along such prejudicial lines as some human beings, but neither sees any form of  bigotry as a "natural" element of any mind-body-spirit. Over the years, I have meat many people who share much the same experience, albeit I dare say they my well prefer not to see themselves as pantheists... or poets, for that matter.

 How a person feels, how he or she fills their personal space, that is where human choice lies, and it is only human to make  bad choices sometimes; these can never (quite) rectified, but the capacity to recognise  and change is also innate to mind-body-spirit and it should not require religion to state the terms of  a sinner's repentance or forgiveness. If we can repent and forgive ourselves, it is my belief that the greater, natural part of mind-body-spirit will rest easier for that and form the better part likely to engage with an empathic consciousness in life or death. 

      I'm not asking anyone to agree with me, simply trying to answer (to myself as much as anyone) why poetry helps me get through bad times and lets me feel a sense of spirituality as well as sheer pleasure in better, kinder times. Not an answer that will satisfy some if not many readers, I'm sure, but like everyone else, I can but try to get to the root of such thought processes that many philosophers and many a finer poet than I has attempted to reach for centuries.

Take care, keep well and nurture as positive thinking a mindset as you can,

Back soon,

Hugs, 

Roger

[Note: This post also appears on my general blog today since feedback suggests that some LGBT readers only dip into this blog