Another Open Letter from London UK

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

Sorry, no poem today, folks, but soon...

Although I take no notice of troll-type emails, I often read them just to get a perspective on the thinking behind them. Predictably, several readers protested that I published yesterday’s poem on both blogs. A. G. writes, “... it is offensive to publish a gay poem on a general poetry blog, you should be ashamed of yourself.”

No apologies, A. G. and it is not (just) a gay poem, either, but simply a love poem. All poems are all-inclusive, but maybe some poems of mine are more all-inclusive than others.

Prejudice in any shape or form, towards anyone, for whatever reason, remains, tragically, a global pandemic; the victim has to be strong - in mind and spirit if not physically -to resist its slings and arrows, and not all of us as strong in that capacity as we would like to be.

Experience can be a great teacher which is why, perhaps, a growing sense of LGBT awareness can be so tough on young people just setting out in a world where prejudice is very much accepted by many people as part and parcel of human nature and a sin by most world religions.  A friend of mine is a gay Irish Catholic, also a practising physician; not surprisingly, he is not open about his sexuality, not because he is ashamed, but because, like so many LGBT folks, he fears being misunderstood, judged according to faux stereotypes and treated accordingly instead of being admired for his medical skills and basic humanity. He is a lovely persona and deserves better as do all those thrust into a dark, lonely closet by the darker aspects of human nature.

A reader once asked, “How can you describe a closet as lonely when there are so many repressed LGBT people in the world, not forgetting women as well as men...” Only a heterosexual would ask that question, but full marks for asking, if only more people would ask it and many LGBT folks might get to live kinder and safer lives. Oh, and I never forget that there are gay women, not least because many a gay man’s best friend is a woman. Relatively few women are as aggressively judgemental as men anyway, but I have met women who have been cast out by their families for being of an LGBT persuasion and many a woman has felt obliged to remain in the proverbial closet rather than risk being separated from their family, many a man, too, especially in families where religion plays an integral part in their daily lives.

As for being lonely, how can a closet existence not be so? Yes, one can have access to other closets from time to time, but everyday life feels like living a lie, and that’s where the cold, dark, loneliness of keeping up appearances can grip mind-body-spirit and require a superhuman effort to rise above. I say this, having spent the whole of my teenage years, my 20’s and a chunk of my 30’s in that damn closet and, as regular readers will know, it took a nervous breakdown to help me find the confidence to look the world in the eye as a gay man.

Now, few people have an easy life, however much they may prefer to be perceived to the contrary, and closets come in all shapes and forms, nor are they restricted to LGBT folks, but my blogs are written by a gay man so you’ll hopefully forgive the resulting emphasis. For the record, though, I am not obsessed with either my sexuality or the slings and arrows that have come my way as a result, not least because, on balance, in the course of my life so far, I have experienced more kindness in human nature than active hostility, more love than hate. Nor, though, do feel it necessary to tell folks I am gay unless or until it becomes relevant; it is, after all, only a part of who I am and why should I give any part a priority without due cause? How people react when they realize I am gay, well, that is up to them...

Take care, everyone, keep well, safe, and let’s all do our best to nurture a positive-thinking mindset in spite of all the horrors that keep happening in the world...

Thanks for dropping by, always much appreciated,

Hugs,

Roger

[Note; This post appears on both poetry blogs today.] RT

PS If you want to email me any time, (rogertab@aol.com) please remember to put 'Poetry' in the subject field and I will do my best to reply asap although various health issues sometimes affect my ability to do so.