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.

Monday, 16 December 2019

Having Writ, Moving On and Making History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
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Today's entry is from my gay-interest blog archives for February 2016.

Today's poem - the last in a series of poems I have written for the blog to mark LGBT History Month here in the UK - is another villanelle. A repetitive theme, true, but it’s repetition that best serves the less retentive human memory...which is probably why human history is often inclined to repeat itself.

Now, in many of the world’s societies and in the minds of the less enlightened heterosexual, gay men and woman remain the lesser among equals. Elsewhere, times are changing for the better; we are not only making our voice heard but also our presence felt while making the kind of positive contribution to society, human relationships and humankind in general to which most if not all of us aspire.

Change, though, is rarely evenly spread across the world’s home fronts, taking its cue from Time, a notoriously fickle ally by any standards. Whatever, that old-stand by Hope is always willing and able to pick up any pieces, put us together (yet) again and spur us on. I suspect it all starts with our taking responsibility for who and what we are rather than finding someone else to blame wherever and whenever any question of blame arises.

“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

― Omar Khayyám  (re Edward Fitzgerald's translation of The Rubáiyát, 1859]

Yes, we may well look back in anger and/or grief but also for inspiration, corner stone of all history.

HAVING WRIT, MOVING ON AND MAKING HISTORY  

Child of my century
like any other,
no matter, my sexuality

Born, an innocent babe
to Earth Mother;
child of my century

Turning pages of history
on human nature,
no matter, my sexuality

Often, object of bigotry
like no other;
child of my century

Ever wary of inhumanity
breaking cover,
no matter, my sexuality

Where the sicker society
abets homophobia…
child of my century,
no matter, my sexuality

Copyright R. N. Taber 2016

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