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.

Tuesday, 3 March 2020

Spring, Blueprint for Life OR Never, but Never say Die


Spring may well be some way off yet here in the UK,but yesterday I spotted my first daffodils of 2020, and experienced a deep sense of relief that winter is all but done with us... for now, at least, although a winter of the heart is something else entirely.

Oh, my, how time flies! Scary, yes, but (as regular readers will know) I for one take reassurance in the fact that spring always follows winter…

Renewal, of course, includes reconciliation, not least with ourselves and consequently (hopefully) with each other and Earth Mother, both having a nasty habit of seeming to turn against us as winter proceeds, often harshly and uncaring, spreading discontent at every turn.

The genesis of this poem appeared in my secondary school magazine. I was aged 11 years at the time. (Are we really in 2020 already, and will I really be 75 later this year?) Oh, well, time waits of no one and we must make the best of what time we have, each in our own way, whatever our circumstances. 



Spring, too, may well rescue a human spirit in free fall; nor does religion  have a monopoly on spirituality since the human spirit may well choose a different path which we should attempt to understand before rushing to any judgement, especially given that our differences do not make us different, only human. (As good a reason as any for this poem appearing on both poetry blogs today.)

So, what am I saying? Well, I'm sure you will have worked it out, but in case you are left in any doubt ... whatever life forces are getting you down, never, but never say die. 


Yes, we do die, all of us, but, like nature all around us, we live on ... and will return in the hearts and minds of others, a posthumous consciousness that may not be equal to the real thing, yet is just that in many ways; whenever we need a comfort zone or are mulling things though, we are most likely to turn to those whose opinions we value the most, whether they be alive or dead.


We all have wintry days, and the need to seek inspiration, beauty and hope in the multiple life forces ever-present in a springtime... only ever a heartbeat away.


SPRING, BLUEPRINT FOR LIFE or NEVER, BUT NEVER SAY DIE

In the air, a sense 
of renewal, everywhere,
bluebells ringing out 
their message of peace, 
love and rebirth,
imaging a passage of seasons,
(shortcut to Eternity)
where every human heart
dares share its secrets
with Earth Mother for all
Time will (as likely as not)
cajole us to forget

Oh, but listen, listen
to a global consciousness
forever intoning rites
in the wind, summoning
all ghosts of love
and peace to haunt our dreams,
revisit their seasons, feed us 
hopes laid low by winters
come and gone, restored to life
by the Spirit of Spring
urging us to enjoy its scents,
and follow, follow...

Humanity, unequalled
in the art of shadowing nature,
ever anxious to pass on
its secrets and discoveries
in theories, treatises, 
stories and poems generations
will tell, retell and embellish 
(as likely as not) in its archives, 
revealing a hint (at least) 
how taking advantage of nature
still saw a forgiving Earth Mother
mindful of its future

Spring, all things bright and beautiful,
blueprint for human potential

Copyright R. N. Taber 2002, rev. 2020

[Note: Subsequent to its appearance in my school magazine at the age of eleven, the genesis of this poem also appeared under the title 'A Hymn to Spring' in an anthology, The Joy of Spring, Poetry Now (Forward Press) 2001 and later in First Person Plural by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2002.]

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