Sun Worshippers

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

Some new readers have asked if there is a recording available of my informal poetry reading on the 4^th plinth in London’s Trafalgar square back in 2009 as my contribution to Sir Antony Gormley’s One and Other ‘live art’ project.  Unfortunately, there isn’t one, but you are welcome to make a note of the link:

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

Now, all of us love the sunshine although I am no sun worshipper (as such) because I have very sensitive skin which even the best sun creams don't protect. Oh, but for those who can lie in the sun to their heart's content...heavenly, indeed!

SUN WORSHIPPERS 

Lying on the sand

letting the sea lick our feet,

listening to waves

like the heartbeat of a god

crashing against

the temple of its Being,

sending adrenalin

flowing through the veins

of acolytes thinking

to serve a Higher Power

than priests playing

mind games of their own

with our lives,

thoughts, ideas, faiths

likely to inspire

man, woman, child, across

land, sea, air, to bring

their joys, sorrows, hopes

for a (far) better life

to the altar of self-sacrifice,

arms and legs spread,

heads bowed, eyes closed,

listening for that still,

small voice, ever engaging
in a sense of spirituality

inviting a sense of our being

at one with its creation

Apollo among other gods

looking on blankly

as humankind all but bares all
on the sand, letting waves

tickle toes, and (who knows?)
even trying to understand

Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2012

[Note: This poem has been slightly revised from the version that appeared on the blog in 2009 and in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005.]