https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
Today’s poem first appeared on the blog in 2018.
Love, dialogue, politics, religion, culture, peace of mind, inspiration, positive thinking, taking people as we find them and rejecting prejudice and stereotypes …these
are but some of the many life forces some of us are inclined to forget, even
dismiss, and fail to call upon to sustain us during the worst of hard times for which we are often too busy employing the Forces of Blame.
First among
equals, of course, is love - in all its shapes and forms; a close second,
though, is dialogue, something in which too few people, communities and, yes,
family members, too, are inclined to engage, preferring to rush to judgements fired by
such speculation as incited by personal ego.
Now, if we really want to achieve something in which we
passionately believe, we need to be prepared to stick at it every step of the
way though the going be rough or smooth. Maybe if the British Government
believed more passionately in Brexit, they may well have achieved it sooner
instead of alienating all sides and homing in on a compromise; as it is, our
relations
with the E U are looking shaky if not irreparably
damaged.
Certainly, if the LGBT campaign for equality that began
with Stonewall had weakened, even given up under pressure from the eternal Naysayers
in society, we would not have come as far as we have, here in the West at
least; less so in other parts of the world so while where there is cause for
celebration, there remains no room for complacency, and never is. Every cause
worth fighting for will always have its nemeses with which to contend and find
ways of either defeating or winning over.
Certainly, in an LGBT context, it is good to see how the
latter continues to prevail where once it would have been unthinkable.
Hopefully, we can sustain the momentum and fling open doors previously slammed
shut in our faces. Hopefully, too, a time will come when those societies and
communities (including religious groups) bent on persecuting us may yet concede
that our differences do not make us different, only human, and embrace an all-inclusive agenda
of love and peace.
We are a common humanity, deserving better than
certain separatist forces driving us apart; politics, dogma and prejudice to
name but a few. At least the Covid-19 coronavirus has encouraged some people to
put these aside and pull together, see the light in so far as there is really
nothing wrong in agreeing to differ, it is but another life force in which we
may freely engage without being divisive or judgemental
This poem is a kenning (or a Who-Am-I? poem as a kenning
is sometimes called.)
ENGAGING WITH LIFE FORCES or A UNIVERSAL PASSION
A worthy ally, and necessary
to keep faith
with the mind-body-spirit
where its causes just,
and likely outcome much the better
for everyone
engaged in the greater purpose
of making a positive contribution
to raison d’être
Whomsoever engages with me
needs must
feel committed to all ends
in view, no matter
any distractions conspiring to deflect
(even defeat)
such perseverance as treading
a tightrope of conflicting alliances,
no safety-net
Too often, fickle contemporaneity
makes such demands
of those who take me to heart,
expecting compromise,
would all but see me in free fall;
yet, keep the faith,
and count every battle won,
a triumph over the world’s Naysayers
in self-denial
Not for the fainthearted, I, Motivation,
feed momentum to inspiration
Copyright R. N. Taber 2018; 2020
[Note: an earlier version of this poem appeared on the blog in 2018]
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