Mind-Body-Spirit, Making Connections

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

Today's poem (and much of the same post) appears in my gay-interest poetry archives for January 2014; archives for either of my poetry blogs can be accessed on the right hand side of blog entries.

Incidentally, today’s poem was inspired by a very moving gay-interest film (available on DVD) called Eyes Wide Open about the relationship between two orthodox Jewish men, one of whom, when confronted with and acting upon his homosexuality starts to ‘feel alive’ for the first time in his (married) life.

Now, some gay friends take offence at the word ‘homosexual’. As I see it, it’s a perfectly respectable word for a perfectly respectable state of mind, body, and spirit. Yes, some people use it as a form of abuse, but that is their problem and not mine.

Meaning is defined by less by what we say than how we say it. Similarly, the human condition is defined less by how it looks than how it conducts itself. In turn, how we conduct ourselves is defined less by any socio-cultural-religious dogma than by the sense and sensibility of minds and hearts left open to the subtleties of natural human goodness.

MIND-BODY-SPIRIT, MAKING CONNECTIONS

A human body
makes itself known
in a thousand ways,
inner voices crowding
but never (quite)
drowning its mind
or spirit out

Come, but listen to what
it has to say,
feed its needs or hold back
for all the things
you’ve been warned,
told never to forget,
yet longed for in dusty corners
of a mind inaccessible
to a world (far) better known
throughout history
for its darker shades of bigotry
and hate than any light
of human understanding
shown its own kind

A human mind
makes itself known
in a thousand ways,
inner voices crowding
but never (quite)
driving host body
or spirit out

Come, follow or follow not,
ours to choose
freedom or chains imposed
by well-meaning others
who haven’t a clue about half
of what's going on in a man
or woman’s own personal space
in never (quite) sharing
the same perceptions of grace
and harmony as even family,
or friends committed to dogma
stigmatising any differences
for flaws if not sins irreconcilable
with a common humanity

A human spirit
makes itself known
in a thousand ways,
inner voices crowding
but never (quite)
driving host body
or mind out

Come, follow or follow not
ours to let the heart in
on the act and let its beat
lead the world a dance
with our heads held high,
play the wallflower
or (worse) take a partner
for appearances’ sake
nodding politely to family,
friends, peers insisting
our best interests
are of such prime concern
that any bones of contention
form part of no equation

Better (surely?)
to insist on at least one
of a thousand voices,
speaking up for us
as nature intended,
refusing to let the world
drown us out

Copyright R. N. Taber 2017

[Note: This poem has been considerably revised; while it does not appear in my collections, regular readers may notice that it was previously posted on the blog in a very different form. Feedback suggested the original poem did not (quite) work, and I always take constructive criticism on board.]