A Poet's Blog: Roger N.Taber shares his thoughts & poems...

Thoughts and observations by English poet Roger N. Taber, a retired librarian and poet-novelist.- "Ethnicity, Religion, Gender, Sexuality ... these are but parts of a whole. It is the whole that counts." RNT [NB While I have no wish to create a social network, I will always reply to critical emails about my poetry. Contact: rogertab@aol.com].

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Location: London, United Kingdom

Sadly, a bad fall in 2012 has left me with a mobility problem, and being diagnosed with prostate cancer the same year hasn't helped, but I get out and about with my trusty walking stick as much as I can, take each day as it comes and try to keep looking on the bright(er) side of life. Many of my poems reflect the need to nurture a positive-thinking mindset whatever life throws at us.

Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Reading between the Lines

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

This poem appeared on my gay-interest blog earlier this month; needless to say several religious-minded readers protested. As regular readers know I respect all religious beliefs even if I happen to take issue with them all; it would appear, though, that non-Believers are not necessarily afforded the same respect. Fortunately for humankind, not everyone is so narrow-minded; or is it arrogance that convinces some people thay are right so everyone else has to be wrong, and damned for it?

For those readers who are less than happy about my carrying over some poems from my gay-interest  poetry archives, I cannot expect everyone to like everything I write so feedback is really helpful. [Contact me any time at rogertab@aol.com with 'Poetry' in the subject field if you would like a reply or just leave a comment on the blog if you prefer to remain anonymous, but I do not post comments so they will only be seen by me.]

Meanwhile...

Why is it so many people say one thing when they really mean another, often the complete opposite?A human trait throughout history, it is plainly one that political correctness encourages. It is so typical of many people when asked for a point of view that they try to suss out the questioner's standpoint first for fear of causing offence and/or being misunderstood and/or wrongly accused, and having to face consequences they do not deserve (or maybe they do...)

It would seem that honesty and free speech are among the first victims of any society whether supposedly democratic or otherwise. Yes, we need to care about each other, but not under false colours; in Romania, for example, LGBT communities have grown in recent years; it was named by Human Rights Watch as one of five countries in the world that have made "exemplary progress in combating rights abuses based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, as we all know only too well, there can be no legislation for bad attitude.

I write this only hours after witnessing a so-called gay-friendly acquaintance I have known for years verbally abusing two young men for kissing in the street.I was walking on the other side, but could clearly see and hear the commotion opposite. When younger and fitter, I would have leapt to their defence, but the area is well-known for hate crime and the need for a walking stick in old age urges caution. Besides, the gay couple were clearly able to give as good as got even as they moved on from a small crowd that had started to gather, and was clearly not taking their side.

I went on my way, the sound of someone shouting, "Sickies, hell is too good for the likes of you!"

A phrase from Shakespeare's King Lear instantly sprung to mind, 'More sinned against than sinning.'

It will be interesting to hear what my longtime acquaintance has to say the next time we meet as I will not hold back from raising the subject...

READING BETWEEN THE LINES

There are many who will say
that being gay is a sin against humankind
and God

Humankind is judgemental
by nature, but does that fit in with a God
of Love?

There are many who will argue
that same sex relationships are unnatural
acts

According to whom, unnatural
as each to our own way of thinking, dogma
too?

There are many who (still) insist
it offends the eye to see two men or women
embrace

Oh, and why must any human eye
on embraces it finds offensive even go there
at all?

There is a majority who will agree
any words invoking LGBT images suggest ‘sick’
minds

Oh, and does a majority promote
healthy living in its rape of nature for capitalist
gratification?

There are few who support Equality
and Human Rights unconditionally, absolutely
no holds barred

Copyright R. N. Taber 2019



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