Sun Worshippers

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

Some new readers have asked if there is a recording available of my informal poetry reading on the 4^th plinth in London’s Trafalgar square back in 2009 as my contribution to Sir Antony Gormley’s One and Other ‘live art’ project.  Unfortunately, there isn’t one, but you are welcome to make a note of the link:

http://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20100223121732/oneandother.co.uk/participants/Roger_T    [For now, at least, this link needs the latest Adobe Flash Player  and works best in Firefox; the archives website cannot run Flash but changes scheduled for later this year may well mean the link will open without it. Ignore any error message and give it a minute or so to start up. The video lasts an hour. ] RT 3/18

Now, all of us love the sunshine although I am no sun worshipper (as such) because I have very sensitive skin which even the best sun creams don't protect. Oh, but for those who can lie in the sun to their heart's content...heavenly, indeed!

SUN WORSHIPPERS 

Lying on the sand

letting the sea lick our feet,

listening to waves

like the heartbeat of a god

crashing against

the temple of its Being,

sending adrenalin

flowing through the veins

of acolytes thinking

to serve a Higher Power

than priests playing

mind games of their own

with our lives,

thoughts, ideas, faiths

likely to inspire

man, woman, child, across

land, sea, air, to bring

their joys, sorrows, hopes

for a (far) better life

to the altar of self-sacrifice,

arms and legs spread,

heads bowed, eyes closed,

listening for that still,

small voice, ever engaging
in a sense of spirituality

inviting a sense of our being

at one with its creation

Apollo among other gods

looking on blankly

as humankind all but bares all
on the sand, letting waves

tickle toes, and (who knows?)
even trying to understand

Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2012

[Note: This poem has been slightly revised from the version that appeared on the blog in 2009 and in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005.]

Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams

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

In winter, there are always memories of summer to keep us warm and see us through the darkest, coldest, cruellest days… as we anticipate other summers and longer, warmer, kinder days.

Forget log fires and central heating. Lovers can always escape the cold in each other’s arms…so it’s lucky for gay people like me that love doesn’t discriminate any more than weather! It’s just a shame that we can’t always escape bigotry so easily. Yes, life is a lot easier for gay people in some parts of the world…but only some…and rarely that easy, wherever.

Brrrrrrrrrrr. Things can only get better, yeah?

SUMMER WISHES, WINTER DREAMS

Tangled legs on a spread of clover

mouths kissing, arms embracing;

sun nymphs dancing on naked bodies,

breasts bared to the sky, mischief

in each golden eye, making the most

of precious moments, playing to

an audience of doves in the branches

of a guardian tree

Half-remembered lovers ghosting us 

but fleetingly - cannot reach, touch,

yet watch and yearn, burn like candles 

in the wind till snuffed out, freeing us

to be who we are, no mere shadows 

of who we were before we lay here 

together, embracing a brave new future

in the lap of summer

But vaguely aware of doves applauding

in the ears or the passing of past loves 

getting in our eyes like smoky cloud trails

as we are transported by the smileys

on the faces of such as we, discovering 

(as if for the first time) the ecstasy 

of being in perfect harmony with each other

and nature

Inspired to respond to Earth Mother's 

love poetry as naturally as seeds in the air,

nurturing the world, sending it word

that love, like truth, may yet win through

whatever some people think or say

as others vie with ghosts to go one better,

swept along on a tide of inspired togetherness

and sexuality

Be sure love will have the last laugh

on its critics as summer will follow spring,  

autumn fires warm us on its colder days

wherever we are, doves cooing, sun shining 

either side of storm or snow, showers 

that would see flowers grow another day,

open their hearts by way of urging all humanity
to do the same

Copyright R. N. Taber 2004; 2012

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in The Third Eye by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2004.]

Summer is a Man in a Blue Denim Shirt

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

[Update August 4th 2018: Oh, what a difference 10 years makes! Here we are, in one of the hottest summers the UK, much of Europe and beyond has known for decades! Oh, but where is that rain now, and how can anyone remain in denial of climate change?]

It's June 2008 and summer must be here, surely? Yet, here in the UK, I look out of my window at pouring rain and wonder…

SUMMER IS A MAN IN A BLUE DENIM SHIRT

In a field of sunflowers I met a man
wearing a blue denim shirt,
smelling of roses, singing a song
about love, joy and peace;
Laughing, he took me by the hand,
led me a dance as lightly
as a summer wind’s teasing leaves,
stroking a sparrow’s feathers,
running friendly fingers
through my hair, making me feel
so…alive

When I asked his name, he smiled
and burst into song again
without answering, lifting my heart
like the sparrow’s wing,
flirting with clouds at heaven’s door
as if daring someone to fling
it wide and protest at such blasphemy
as behaving so badly we even
whisper gossip at prayers
intended to give thanks for being
so…alive

A dark storm broke. We could but run
for the shelter and safety
of a nearby farmhouse painted green
but when I turned, that man
in the faded blue denim shirt was gone;
I searched long and hard
in pouring rain until soaked to the skin
before finally knocking at the door,
no sign of life so had to move on,
nearly … died

Come sun or storms, see summer pass,
its heart left waiting on love and peace

Copyright R. N. Taber 2008

[From: Accomplices  to Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007]