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].

Name:
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.

Sunday, 13 December 2020

Safe and Sound

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

Today, another revised post-poem from a year or so ago. 

Now, whenever people often tell me that they hate winter, the cold and snow, I am inclined to agree while Muse enjoys letting cosy fires conjure up such images of comfort and joy as can be relied on to home in on a more positive approach to past-present-future.    

Home, is where the heart is, is it not? More often than not, it is people, not a place, unless it is a place of special significance for us, not least because of those with whom we visited it and shared happy memories. My mother once described winter as 'a very happy-sad time'; it would be many years before I quite understood what she meant. 

The best of nature and human nature is a door that is open to us all 24/7, whatever season of mind-body-spirit in which we may find ourselves at any given time, for whatever reason. For many, it opens the way to comfort zones that will inspire and see us through thick and thin all our lives, no matter our gender, religion, culture, sexuality...for as long as we choose to dwell on the positives in our lives even as we tackle the negatives. 

Although unwell at the moment, I still practise what I preach in so far as I continue to look on the bright(er) side of life through just such a door...

SAFE AND SOUND

In winters of the heart,
no sweeter thoughts than of love
to thaw frozen cockles
by fires rekindling kinder landscapes.
taking us further even
than the eye can see for having us focus
on a collage of positive thoughts

Oh, such times past
that lift even the mind-body-spirit
through its wintry days;
a child’s delight in the sheer poetry
of rainbows, flowers, trees,
in awe of the natural world, no sense (yet)
of its ever being taken for granted! 

Oh, such times past
as homing in on love in all its shapes
and forms, journeys
of a lifetime sure to keep family, friends
and lovers among sunny skies,
oblivious to any spoilsport clouds gathering
with more than mischief in mind! 

Oh, such times past,
inviting the adrenaline to flow as fast
and furious as any river,
every vein throbbing so for the first thrill
of being in love, and reason
to hope it will be returned in full, last forever,
one in the eye for its naysayers! 

Oh, such times past
as kept busy weeding out the poorer
to leave the very best
more space to grow, time for nurture, present
and future in the balance,
a kinder humanity sure to reap its own rewards, 
the rest but left out in the cold! 

In winters of the heart,
no warmer thoughts than of love to thaw
any frozen cockles,
let gentle, evergreen landscapes, further even
than the eye can see,
inspire mind-body-spirit to make such journeys
as sure to see it return safe and sound 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2020









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