Resilience

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

“Grief and Resilience live together.” - Michelle Obama 

“I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.” – Maya Angelou

 As the war in Ukraine enters its 4th week, the resilience of its people continues to leave the rest of the world agog, not least its chief architect, Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who had clearly underestimated the full force of Ukranian resistance.

Indeed, I imagine Putin could well be found guilty of war crimes at some later date, and deservedly so, given that Russian troops appear, time and again, to have deliberately targeted the civilian population; men, woman and children - old, young, the sick and disabled alike.

Such are the horrors of war; so, too, for many, - on a lesser, if no less significant scale to those involved - the trials and troubles of everyday life, even in so-called peace time. More often than not, the spirit of resilience asserts and re-asserts itself, allowing heart-and-soul to overcome the worst, learn to live with it, strive for better times and win through...for others, if not always themselves.

RESILIENCE

As the burden of life on me grows,
so, too, a sense of responsibility to myself,
as much as loved ones and others,
to see it through, to an end often requiring
a compromise of sorts,
while not letting heart-and-soul lie broken
by hurricane forces,
but standing firm to even the worst of all weathers 
to the best of native endeavours

As time continues to wear me down,
would even uproot me from my place of birth,
I can but draw on such gifts
of nature as let a robin sing in bleakest winters,
spring but the likes of dreams away
as inspire human beings to survive a bitter cold,
young and old alike,
engaging with a collective mind-body-spirit to sustain
hopes of rediscovering peace again

Like the willow that bends with the wind,
I vow to survive, for myself as much as loved ones
and others caught up in storms
inflicted by nature and human nature worldwide,
though they underestimate what may lie
behind appearances, often deceived by an apparent
vulnerability, easy prey
to a determined enemy, likely to be caught out in its turn
by the steely stare of self-preservation

Always ready to lend an ear, and more,
to any distress call from heart-and soul under siege
and deserving better, no matter how
or why, although the Here-and-Now as it affects others,
especially as close to home
as some will be, may also affect shape and degrees
of such help as I can rally,
the better part of humanity needing to prove up to the task
without putting itself at too great a risk

Meanwhile, amongst chaos and destruction I dare to battle on
for such peace as offers a collective salvation, and my own...

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

Hi folks, from London UK

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

" It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live." - Dalai Lama XIV

 "I don't believe in collective guilt, but I do believe in collective responsibility.” - Audrey Hepburn

Hi Folks,

No poem today, but I am working on one. Mind you, inspiration is flagging at the moment as I am still having to deal with a bad cold. I have started to feel better over the last couple of days, but inspiration doesn't seem to have taken the hint...😉 However, I remain coronavirus-free, so am still able to keep looking on the bright(er) side of life... well, most of the time.😊

I have been able to get out and about locally just for basic shopping, but while the Omicron variant remains rampant, it is scary, so I try to go as early as I can to avoid crowds. 

 Now,  while wearing a mask won't necessarily stop anyone catching  Covid BUT it will stop a person spreading it. At 76 years old and living with prostate cancer, I am vulnerable, so hate it when people get too close to me in a queue, especially if they are not wearing a mask. Unfortunately, many stores no longer have the floor markings to show how people can remain at least two metres apart.

If someone has genuine medical reasons for not wearing a mask, fair enough, but it does not excuse that person getting too close to others in a queue. This happened to me only yesterday. I was queuing at a supermarket checkout.  I asked a Muslim woman queuing behind me with her grown-up daughter not to stand so close to me in the queue; neither were wearing face masks. The woman took no notice, just glared at me and I hear someone say "Racist." I was angry, but managed to keep my temper and moved away as soon as I had finished loading my shopping bag.

Now, I am not a racist and if someone chooses not to wear a mask for any reason, that is up to them BUT where their not wearing a mask potentially and directly affects me, I reserve the right to protest. It seems to be a fairly common problem everywhere. While Omicron continues to spread and fill hospitals, social distancing remains important for all of us, especially with regard to those people who are not wearing face masks. 

Given that data appears to show that the vast majority of people who are critically ill in hospitals are those who have not been been vaccinated, I can no more understand the reasoning behind not being vaccinated that not wearing a face mask in shops, on public transport and in crowded areas. Such is human nature, I suppose, sometimes wise and wonderful, sometimes plain stupid. 

Celebrities from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds have appeared on television to persuade others to get vaccinated against Covid-19; it beggars belief that a significant percentage of  populations in various parts of the UK  have chosen to remain unvaccinated against the coronavirus. Data suggests that the majority of the unvaccinated are from ethnic minority backgrounds. (No, I am not being racist it is a fact.) 

Collective responsibility is for the good of everyone and rejects discrimination of all kinds except on grounds of an individual's bad or criminal behaviour.. . well, doesn't it?

Hopefully, the coronavirus will pass sooner rather than later, but all the while certain people, from all walks of life, refuse to be vaccinated against it, the likelihood remains that is likely to be later rather than sooner. Don't the rest of us deserve better than that?

Now, whoever and wherever you may be in the world, I can but wish you all safe, well, and finding the inner strength of mind-body-spirit to nurture a positive-thinking mindset, whatever your personal  circumstances; never easy, I know only too well just as I know, too, that it's always well worth the effort.

Take care, everyone, and do drop by again soon. Meanwhile, you may enjoy browsing the blog archives?

Hugs,

Roger

Looking to the Future

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

Here’s wishing everyone as Happy (and Healthy) a New Year as mind-body-spirit can magic up for us... in the spirit of Togetherness...with more than a little help from loved ones and friends.

Hugs,

Roger

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

So, we begin another year
as well as another day, looking ahead
with mixed feelings
of happiness and hope, yet dread too
for wondering whether or not
the coming months well see the end
of Covid-19, who may get
to re-enter the Arts and Politics of Life
and who will not...?

New Year celebrations muted
for many of us, both Delta and Omicron
variants of coronavirus
raging all around the world, striking fear
here, there, everywhere, in all
walks of life, opinions varying as to just
when and how science-led data
will help restore return us a greater security,
now... or never?

There is a sickness in the world
other than Covid-19, not least a beast
that is jealousy-prejudice-hate;
if we cannot ever be rid of the species
for all time, we can at least
try to educate and inform, let them know
who should know better
that, as a common humanity, we all need to get
our acts together

We can but trust mind--body-spirit
to make sense of the world, encourage us
in playing our part
to make the worst (far) better, to darkness
bring the lights of hope and love,
not play ourselves false or wish others ill,
nor let our differences divide us,
but listen to Reason and Conscience, let them
help us find Peace

 Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

Hi, folks, from London UK

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

Hi folks,

Yes, it's me again, without a poem I'm afraid, but am working on one, so...soon.

We all know that the pandemic has proven to be a very stressful time for most of us, young and old alike for various reasons. Every death affects  family and friends, while grief is hard enough to deal with at any time, let alone in the middle of a pandemic.. The news about the omicron variant likely to cause fewer deaths and less serious illness is encouraging, but scary nonetheless as it is still too early to be sure just how potent the new variant will prove to be. Hopefully, the scientists will soon have sufficient data to be clearer on the matter. I the meantime, many people are as confused as they are frightened; a recipe if ever there was one for stress

We can but do our best to cope, not only with our own stress, but bear in mind that we are not alone, make allowances where appropriate for family, friends, neighbours, even strangers whose behaviour is clearly disproportionate to whatever we may have said or done to annoy, upset, anger them...whatever. We need to try, also, to keep an eye on anyone who lives alone and may need practical and/or emotional support. I don't mean just the elderly, either, as I suspect there are a good few people of all ages who are feeling anxious this weekend, unwilling to get on the phone to even family or friends and admit they feel as though they are trapped on a sinking ship. (A n excessive metaphor perhaps and the ship isn't going to sink, but I suspect most if not all of you know exactly what I mean.  

I, for one, have had that sinking feeling for some months. So far, so good in so far as I eventually manage to rise above it and talk myself into a more hopeful, positive mindset; never an easy journey whether short or long and even the shorter time it takes can seem l-o-n-g anyway. I have to keep giving myself little pep talks, remind myself that there are plenty of people out there a lot worse off than me, not least the critically ill, rough sleepers and those for whom the current stress, confusion and fear  stress is exacerbating  what were already trying circumstances before anyone had even heard of the Covid-19 coronavirus and its subsequent mutations.

So, what can we do to alleviate stress? Good question, no easy answers. Each of us in our own way, though, can find answers in where we have found them in the past; relax and enjoy favourite music, television, radio programmes... whatever it takes to help us relax. Chatting to family and friends on the phone is always a good idea, especially if  sharing a laugh or a good chuckle; not for nothing do they say that laughter is the best medicine... for most ills, including stress. Favourite, well-worn, familiar paths are always the best; the chances are we we risk being more stressed out than ever if we try something new.  As my mother used to say, "You need to want to take up a challenge because you know it will make you feel good, not because anyone else thinks so...."

Stress is an illness, too few of us are prepared to admit to; it needs treating, sometimes medically, sometimes it can be enough to let mind-body-spirit find its own relief; firstly, though, we need to stop being in denial and get real. Yes, yes, I know... yet again, easier said than done...

When Mind tells us to play safe, we need to listen; when body tells us to relax, we need to listen; when the spirit that knows us only too well, tells us to think positively, considerately and responsibly...yea, we need to listen. Oh, and yes, I do try to 'practice what I preach, but - like all of you - I am only human, so won't always succeed. 😉

I can't say that politicians are my favourite species of person, but I guess they are caught between a rock and a hard place, wanting to do be seen to be doing  their best by the electorate while having to keep the economy on as even a keel as possible, especially given the kind of global crisis in which we all find ourselves tight now. At the same time, it doesn't help when the elite in society - including politicians - give the impression that they believe in one set of rules for the likes of you and me and another for themselves; few things gall mind-body-spirit more than hypocrisy...

Enough of my ramblings. It just remains for me to say thanks again for dropping by, stay safe, keep well, continue to nurture a positive-thinking mindset, remember we are all in the same proverbial boat and we will NOT let it sink us...well, not if mind-body-spirit has anything to say on the matter.

Take care everyone and I'll be back with a poem as soon as I get a glimmer of inspiration...😉

Hugs,

Roger

Trinity OR Three into Two won't Go

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

It is (temporarily) mandatory again here in England to wear face masks in shops and on public transport while scientists try to find out more concerning the new Omicron variant. Even so, a significant number of people continue to ignore the basic safety precautions (other than for medical reasons) which are, after all, for the good of everyone. Yes, the booster jab program is being stepped up, since boosters are thought to provide the most protection against Covid-19, but, yet again, a significant minority are refusing to take part. Not just on their heads be it, but on all our heads...

I often need to travel on the London Underground network for hospital appointments etc. The other day, a young woman pulled her mask down so she could eat sandwiches and drink coffee! It may well have been her lunch, but there is a time and a place... especially at the moment. A significant number of people  still think it is ok to lower their masks so they can read a newspaper or chat on their mobile phone on public transport; it was much the same scenario even in previous (full) lockdowns, and I have yet to see anyone challenged by an official for not wearing a mask or not wearing one properly so both nose and mouth are covered. Since not everyone with Covid-19 has symptoms...well, who knows...?

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main... “No man is an island entirely of itself. Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind.”

TRINITY or THREE INTO TWO WON’T GO

My-body-my-choice;
the path I take, for better or worse,
to it, I will stay true;
no matter what others say or do,
there’s principle at stake
that needs must make a stand against a society
that would disrespect individuality...”

My-body-my-choice;
can’t you see how it has to be or all
we stand for becomes a lie
if only for its throwing you and I
to social media wolves
that would sooner feast on fake news and ideas
put forward as conspiracy theories...

My-body-my-choice;
what on earth is there to argue about?
Am I right or am I right...?
Why pick and argument with me,
no stauncher ally
against the slings and arrows of such modernity
as would disrespect our individuality?”

My-body-my-choice,
so what’s this about a common humanity
deserving more from us
than such intimate points of view
that haven’t the measure
of consequences beyond limits of personal space
likely put us firmly in our place...?

My body-my-choice;
what do you mean it’s not just you and I
whose life in our hands,
that I am but a part of Mind-Body-Spirit
and three is greater than one,
exclude human spirit and see common humanity’s
battles all but lost before begun...?”

My-body-my-choice
may well assert a person’s individuality
from time to time,
the Self, free to take responsibility
for its own well-being,
yet no Self is an island, of its surrounds entirely free,
but bound at birth to a Human Trinity

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Reading the Hand that Writes us Up

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

The Climate Change Summit in Glasgow has had a lot to say on the subject, but one cannot help wonder how many will translate into meaningful action. Even so, Hope springs eternal...

As important as weather patterns,  we need to keep a close eye on human behavioural patterns and not underestimate how they are affected by changes in our personal lives that are constantly taking place, not always for the better. 

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all us and  humanity will need all the life forces it can call upon and sustain during and after it has run its course; the effects on its collective mental as well as physical health will, of course, vary from person to person, country to country, but of one thing we can be sure - nothing will ever be quite the same again, whatever...

ON READING THE HAND THAT WRITES US UP

There's a hand that caresses the first seeds of spring
and bids them grow;
it moves among summer corn in time for harvesting,
courtesy of Apollo

Where autumn's leaves making ready for its turning,
it bestows a blessing;
when winter brings us to its knees, of life despairing,
it guides us into spring

Where we run the gamut of love, hate, peace and war,
find, too, Earth Mother;
better to have its caresses smooth over a troubled brow,
rescue the Here-and-Now 

The question arises, dare we bite the hand that feeds us,
face the consequences
or do we accept it in a spirit of goodwill to all humanity,
put aside our differences?

Beware, or hands rocking our cradle may yet let it drop,
our world breaking up;
it's to read the hand that's writing us up we need to learn
or else... Armageddon?

Copyright R. N. Taber 2012; rev. 2021

[Note: The original version of this poem was written in 2009 and appears in my collection Tracking the Torchbearer, Assembly Books, 2012'; it has only recently been significantly revised.] RT

A Feeling for Crosswords OR Not every Answer is the Right One

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

Just as completing a crossword requires that we take our cue from each and every clue it provides, it could be said that saving the planet asks that we follow much the same procedure; first, though, we need to properly read and make sense of the clues before we act on any cues which we are authoritatively reassured are most likely to see what we have started through to a successful end.

 A FEELING FOR CROSSWORDS or NOT EVERY ANSWER IS THE RIGHT ONE

Uneasy sirs a Muse
in the role of cynic, so many turnings
to choose from
and who’s to say any one kinder
than another,
left to toss and turn on a hotbed
of indecision
and confusion, asking of native imagination
but to show me some compassion? 

Left tossing and turning
like a whore harbouring even more regrets
than tales she might care
to share with tabloids peddling
their shoddy goods
over a quality marmalade spread,
courtesy of higher
and lower elements of a global consciousness
sucking up to (Value-for-Money?) 

Still tossing and turning,
when not fawning over soft soap politics
or such watchpersons
insisting humility but a primitive fantasy,
especially concerning
a public judiciary last heard observing
over its favourite breakfast 
how we needs must balance morality’s scales 
against any need to improve  sales 

Oh, the tossing and turning
over the chances of winning The Lottery,
sorting the Irish Question
for all time at two-across, five down
on the beast
of a Rush Hour train about as likely
to save the planet
as see those campaigning for a cleaner, safer one
arriving for work on time 

More tossing and turning,
for a so-weary and inept Muse struggling
with a poetry needing
to relate how life’s more than a show
put on in passing
by over-rated players too busy courting
media attention
and telling the world what it most wants (?) to hear
to make sure it has a future 

Uneasy stirs a Muse
feeling lost on Platform One,
last train long gone,
and not a clue as to what’s going on,
until younger voices
assure the would-be passenger
that the timetable
is out of date, revised late, but better a late than never
a stitch in time, whatever...? 

Less tossing and turning
for a Muse’s growing belief
in young people
of the world not only insisting it turn
over a new leaf,
but gradually converting doubters
to their way
of thinking, old guards all but reconciled to its changing,
a better future beckoning 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2001 rev. 2021

[Note: First composed in 1984, an earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'A Feeling for Crosswords' in my first collection,  Love and Human Remains by R. N. Taber,, Assembly Books, 2001.] RT

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nature Study

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

Today’s poem has been slightly but significantly revised from the original version that appears in my collection, Love and Human Remains, Assembly Books, 2001

Now, a reader writes in to sat yesterday’s poem was “... a typical over-reaction to the amount of media attention given to fluke weather conditions this year...”

I usually respect intelligent points of view that conflict with my own, but this is hardly an intelligent response to a global crisis... well, is it?

NATURE STUDY

Brightness, falling from the sky
like summer rain, makes the flowers grow,
and the world shine
like rainbow trout on a school kid’s line
at a local stream,
who should be playing in a football team,
but his dad beat him
black and blue, with ma laid out
on the kitchen floor, and he’s not ready yet
to even take a shower

Brightness, falling from the sky
like acid rain, making the trees cry, as leaves
die like fishes everywhere
and other species, carefully laid out
under glass for science
and future generations to reason,
(or agree to differ)
how killing off a species smacks of depravation,
but biology, that’s education

Shadows, much like corpses
on the ground where skylarks once flew,
now a forgotten sound
at a spot where revelations in the clay
suggest a once-busy stream
in a world that aspired to give progress
a good run for its money,
no hint of humanity neatly laid out
under corporate glass for its endangered species
to argue rhetoric and excuses

High time humankind held Progress to its word,
encouraging a kinder, safer world...?...

Copyright R. N. Taber 2001; rev. 2021

Bathtime Nuances

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

OVERHEARD: 1^st Person: “If climate change is nature getting its own back for all the damage we’ve done, we probably deserve it, but Heaven help us all.”

                           2^nd Person: Nature is no fool nor is God. If we’re being taught a lesson, let’s hope we learn it in good time or it won’t be us having the last laugh...” 

BATHTIME NUANCES 

Lying back in a bath,
engaging with times past,
you-me-us
battling less trouble and strife
and no coronavirus
threatening us at every turn,
our quality of life
a slippery slope for sliding down,
climbing up, falling again 

Engaging with the heat
of a kinder personal space,
you-me-us
dreaming of spreading wings,
visiting such islands
as set apart from worldly ways
while joining up any dots
best placed to keep up appearances
embracing love and kindness 

Bath water cooling down,
time to get busy with the task
of scrubbing clean
a mind-body-spirit disillusioned
by a world anxious
to interpret information data
in such ways as furthering
such political agendas as win elections,
least offend its religions 

A window left partly open
lends me glimpses of a leafy patch
of blue sky under siege
by weepy clouds, till old Apollo
effects a timely rescue
reminding me (as I grab a towel)
of such life and light
as nature duly inspires mind-body-spirit
lest it should ever forget 

Refreshed and ready to take on a new day,
a hopeful heart, come what may 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Times, they are A-Changing

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

It was January 1964. I had just left school, still living at home and contemplating my future the first time I heard Bob Dylan singing The Times, They Are A-Changin’ on the family radiogram in the comfort of an armchair. 

A violent storm was raging outside. 

Maybe it was the poet in me that started me thinking along much the same lines as I do now, 50+ years later, that nature and humanity are at risk... not least from each other?

THE TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGING

Sun glaring down
with the ferocity of a Greek god
at humankind’s
insistence upon pitting itself
against nature
in the name of progress,
any capital gains notwithstanding,
climate change but an incidental factor
in a universal picture? 

Forest fires, freak floods,
forcing whole families to take flight,
come day or night,
since nature has little respect
for those in denial
of meaning it harm by providing
greater elbow room 
as and when the need, any justification
met with regeneration                                          

Does the natural world
not deserve better that such Reserves
and Zoos as humankind
feels inclined to allow, if only to teach
its past and present
to students of world order, its future
looking as bleak
as theirs, its own life forces whittled down
by matters human? 

A worldwide pandemic,
regarded by many as beyond coincidence,
but Earth Mother’s way
of protesting at humanity’s inclination
to see wildlife as sport,
green spaces expendable wherever
developers see potential
in arguing for public as well as private gains,
so “Everyone wins...” 

Come a 21^st Century virus,
targeting the human race as indiscriminately
as it has seen fit
to target birds, beasts, fishes and habitats
in the name of self-preservation,
humanity deserving the greater share
for its sheer superiority
and monopoly on matters cognitive-spiritual
engaging with its soul? 

Who’s to say the natural world
is incompatible with a universal spirituality
when grief and loss
as well as celebration are plain to see
in species other than human?
Who’s to say, too,
that were humanity fail to survive
its own demands and prejudices, there would be
no new Dawn of History? 

Human mind-body-spirit, at risk for being in denial
of the natural world’s being part of its whole...

 Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

 

 

 

Hi folks, from London UK

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

Hi folks

I hope you are ok and continuing to nurture your mental as well as physical well-being. Never easy at the best of times, let alone during a pandemic. Yes, here in the UK and other parts of the world, vaccines are proving very effective and safety restrictions are being gradually lifted. Even so, there is no room for complacency.

Some people remain wary of vaccination, especially significant numbers from ethic minority communities despite assurances from public figures from those same communities going on TV to urge everyone to get both jabs. Yes, there is an element of risk, but it is very small, while the greater benefit to those communities at large is immeasurable. True, the so-called Indian variant, for example, has shown itself to be far more easily transmitted from person to person than even the original virus, BUT even if someone is unfortunate enough to catch it, data suggests the chances are it will be (far)  less likely to mean hospitalisation. 

I have heard people say, "Oh, I'll chance my luck..." Fair enough, one might argue. but it is not only their own luck these people are chancing, but the luck of everyone around them should they get symptoms and unknowingly pass them on. 

There is such a thing as collective responsibility, and if ever there was a time for it, yours truly feels  that time is NOW.

As regular readers know, I have to contend with prostate cancer among other health issues, and was very nervous about getting both vaccinations, but went ahead anyway and remain coronavirus-free; I had symptoms in early January 2020, but there was no talk of a pandemic then so I thought t was a bad dose  of flu....

I have read since that some people experience no symptoms even though a subsequent test has proven positive. Since it appears possible that people who appear to be coronavirus-free can still spread the virus, all the more reason, surely, to have both vaccinations and protect others, including those closest to us?  Yes, I know it can seem as if free choice is being undermined if not eroded altogether, but there are times when the proverbial 'greater good' becomes a FACT we ignore, not only at our own risk, but everyone else's too.

Herewith ends the 'lesson' for today... 😉

The weather here is looking GOOD, hope is it looking GOOD wherever you are based as well. 

Whatever, we all need to call on any GOOD vibes to get our thought processes up and running smoothly for the rest of the day. No, not always easy, but Hobson's choice all the same; we can let our own problems get the better of us or tell them to "Get lost!" - for now, at any rate. 

In the immortal words of Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchel's novel Gone with the Wind, "Tomorrow is another day..."

Take care, my friends, keep well,  let's all do our best to nurture a positive thinking mindset (we can but try) and many thanks for dropping by.  For those who living  alone, on-line company is always welcome, especially when real-life friends are unable to visit...for whatever reasons. 

Hugs,

Roger

PS, Yes, I am working on a new poem, slowly but surely, as I contend with the usual everyday matters that contribute to our survival... on the best footing available, even if it that  particular life-force isn't our first choice. 😉

Getting the Better of Covid-19

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

It is looking increasingly unlikely that the world will be rid of Covid-19 and its variants any time soon, in spite of vaccines becoming available; no one seems to know just how effective certain vaccines will prove to be against this strain or that.

Be sure that mind-body-spirit will do its best to see us through whatever lies ahead. 

In the meantime, we can but give ourselves and each other the best chances of survival by following whatever restrictions intended to make us safe(er) rather than follow our more natural instinct to do our own thing… 

The world is more unsafe than it has been for centuries; subsequently humanity has a collective responsibility to show that it can work together and rise above its various socio-cultural-religious differences instead of using them as tools and/ or excuses, to make a bad situation worse. 

Fat chance of that, do I hear you say? Well, maybe… but where there’s life, there’s always hope; it has  always been hope, as well as love and kindness that not only keeps the happier heart beating, but also comprises the better part of who we are, the part that saves us from going into freefall. 

Take care, be safe and keep well, 

Hugs, 

Roger 

GETTING THE BETTER OF COVID-19

I love the sunny side
of the street, nodding and chatting
to people I meet,
if only simply passing the time
of day, give or take
little else to say likely to raise a smile
while a coronavirus
chases up our every move, left or right,
anywhere, by day or night 

Covid-19 also prefers
to haunt the sunny side of the street,
but I’ll not be fooled
into thinking there’s any safety
in the shade
beyond making sure I wear my mask
correctly, nose and mouth
covered completely, no fashion accessory,
but a social responsibility 

Safer to stay indoors
if we can, but there are key workers
on whom we rely
continue to take risks (do or die)
for all our sakes,
a selflessness putting any to shame
whose conspiracy theories
appeal to the (universally) significant few
left anxiously begging a clue 

Though all the world 
in pain and grieving, a Beacon of Hope
that is love will see us
through to whatever end in store,
whoever, wherever
we are, its truth making itself known
and felt in such ways
as sure to inspire us all our days, the nearer
for our sharing, and the dearer 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cold Hands, Warm Heart

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

A reader asks how I can write about the power of love when I am growing old and living alone. Love, the same reader suggests, is  "... a fool's game, a fantasy, here today and gone tomorrow".  I disagree, of course, although I understand where the reader is coming from, especially as he, too, lives alone.

As I have said on the blog many times. love comes in all shapes and sizes; once we let it in to mind-body-spirit, it is there forever. We may love a person, and that person my leave us or die, but the love we once had for that person does not die with them. We may love a place, and developers may move in and destroy any  natural beauty that once so captivated us; in our mind's eye though, it will remain the same albeit out love for it touched by sadness. Well, that has been my experience of certain very special people and places anyway... and they are always on hand to distract and inspire me whenever my mind-body-spirit feels inclined to dwell on the darker side of life.

Now, winter will be with us here in the UK for awhile yet, as will the threat of Covid-19. People are feeling scared as well as cold. In some parts of the North, families have been evacuated from their homes due to flooding after persistent heavy rainfall and/or snow; our thoughts are with them during these hardest of times. 

All we can do is get my as best we can, try not to worry (easier said than done, I know!) and keep to the Covid-19 safety regulations by staying at home as much as possible and, when exercising outdoors, taking care to avoid crowds and maintain social distancing. I wear a face mask all the time too. When  shopping, or using public transport, it is obligatory to wear a face mask (unless exempt for medical reasons) not only for our own protection, but for everyone else’s.

 It all sounds simple enough, yet there are still those who seem not to give a damn about themselves or anyone else. I, for one, am sick and tired of hearing various (baseless) conspiracy theories regarding Covid-19; invariably, it is sheer arrogance,  an excuse for being self-centred and selfish rather than a genuine belief. 

Meanwhile, yours truly struggles to make the best of things. Hopefully my later poems are not as bad as I often feel these days.. 😉 

COLD HANDS, WARM HEART 

Hearts in winter,
inevitably mulling far kinder times;
spring sunshine,
awaking nature to its potential,
reminding seedlings
they are contracted by Earth Mother
to grow, if only to bring
splashes of colour to such everyday gardens
as per everyday lives 

Cold, the hands,
reaching out for such reassurances
as only memories
in 3-D and full colour can revisit,
human consciousness
flying as wild and free as songbirds,
mind-body-spirit
searching time and space for what once it had,
called happiness 

Such warmth,
at disengaging with the Spirit of Winter
long enough
for everyday life forms to revert
to customising
such forces of nature and human nature
as embrace potential
rather than see either fail miserably or (worse still)
come to nothing 

Let love inspire
the dimmest fire to create home movies
in 3-D,
invite mind-body s
irit to cease railing
against faux fate,
but celebrate its glow, even as it fades away
for giving way
to human hearts resolving not to be left out in the cold,
but regenerate… 

There are few things love would have us savour longer
than surviving its winters much the stronger

 Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

Winds of the Day OR A Take on (Collective) Responsibility

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

There have been several suspected terrorist attacks in Europe within a week, the latest in Vienna which left three people dead. The jihadist group, Islamic State, is thought to be responsible.  Our thoughts and sympathies will invariably home in on the families and friends of the dead and anyone injured (physically and/ or mentally).

So, what provokes extremist views and/ or actions in any of us? It is not good enough to suggest, as some do, that provocation excuses responsibility in the sense that we are being manipulated by forces, emotions (or people) over which we have no control.

It happens, of course; from time to time circumstances may cause us to lose control, to some extent or another, but that doesn’t mean we are excused responsibility even in the most mitigating of circumstances.

The chances are, the worst punishment for anyone unable to control themselves at any point in time to the extent we say or do something regrettable, is a sense of guilt we will never quite be able to quite shrug off; however hard we try to justify certain actions to others, we know, at heart, we have to accept responsibility.

Jihadists may well believe they are justified in killing any person or institution that, as they see it, offends their religion, but all religions preach peace and love, whatever reservations they may have about other religions, so …?

As regular readers well know, I don’t subscribe to any mainstream religion; we must agree to differ, although I am neither atheist nor agnostic in so far as I consider myself something of a Pantheist at heart.

This poem is a kenning.

WINDS OF THE DAY or A TAKE ON (COLLECTIVE) RESPONSIBILITY

From birth to grave,
we infiltrate mind-body-spirit,
vulnerable to temptation,
strong on certain other life forces
anxious for unity,
calling for clarity where confusion,
reality over illusion;
logic, though certain to have its say,
losing out to winds of the day 

Life forces, colluding
to sustain the human condition
for better, for worse,
in its sickness and in health, for richer,
for poorer, no matter who
or where, regardless race, rank, politics
religion or sexuality
nor above engaging with such hypocrisy
as shames much of humanity 

Kin to genius, invention
and progress, but (as likely as not)
inclined to muddy
the waters of our motivation with pain
for paying attention
to certain critics jealous of any ambition
as may result in fame
and fortune, while determined to get a slice
whatever it takes, at any price

We are such thought processes as following
any instructions our host may be giving

Copyright R. N. Taber 2020

 

 

 

 

L-O-V-E, Survivors

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

Today’s poem first appeared on the blog in 2016, and has since been (slightly) revised.

Staying positive and trying to keep looking on the bright side of life has never been harder for many of us than now as the Covid-19 coronavirus continues to take its toll around the world. Essentially, I am a positive thinking person; even so, life has a nasty habit of contriving circumstances likely to make us think differently, circumstances which, for whatever reason, spot a chink in our psychological armour and send us into free fall ...

Many years ago, my lie took a turn for the worse (not the first time) and I had a bad nervous breakdown; unable to see a way through it, I attempted suicide. Fortunately, life forces I cannot begin to describe kicked in, and I started to see something of the wood through its trees. I recall telling a doctor, "I can't do this." His reply has stayed with me ever since. "Yes, you can," he said, "... just tell yourself over and over that you will get through it, and you will. Better still, focus on all the positive things you want to do that giving up now will never let you, and go with the damn flow, man, go with the flow." 

So … I went with the damn flow, and survived to tell the tale.

Good or bad, we make the world we live in and it is up to all of us to try and make it a better one.

Humanity's rage to live for love and the greater good will always defeat its enemies in the end.

Looking on the bright side of life may not always be easy, but human beings have a natural capacity for love, in all its shapes and forms, and the more we can focus on that the better. 

(Did I say it would be easy...?) 

This poem is a villanelle.

L-O-V-E, SURVIVORS

Though bigotry and hate thrive 

among the world’s power brokers,

it’s love that will see us survive

Always, people willing to drive

forces for good to the aid of others,

though bigotry and hate thrive

While terrorist-led plots connive

to mock this world’s peacemakers,

it's love that will see us survive

Open heart and mind ever contrive

to expose the worst attention seekers,

though bigotry and hate thrive

If life giving forces as bees to hive,

(a warning sting for potential takers)

it’s love that will see us survive

As sure to keep freedom's name alive,

as frustrate its would-be code breakers;

though bigotry and hate thrive,

it’s love that will see us survive 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2016, 2020

[Note: This post-poem also appears on my gay-interest poetry blog today.]

Key Worker Extraordinary

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

We are, hopefully over the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic if, by no means, out of the woods just yet. A reader asks, do I blame China for not being as upfront as it might have been about the initial outbreak in Wuhan? No, I don't.  Humankind invariably loves to play the Blame Game, not least because it distracts attention from any contribution its own shortcomings may have played in ... whatever. Take climate change for example; no Devil or Fate working against us, but our own (rarely unselfish) needs. As for any God's intervening to save us all, a cleric once put to me that "God can save souls, and will if we ask Him, but everything else is down to us." Now, as regular readers know, I don't subscribe to any religion, but these words certainly got me thinking, and I was only about 12 ears-old at the time.] 

Now, I have to confess to occasional mood swings since I began my hormone therapy treatment for prostate cancer. Fortunately, my closest friends are very patient with me and are very supportive.

Funny, isn’t it, about some people? Family, friends, neighbours, work colleagues...Some rally round in a crisis and others run a mile. Not everyone appreciates that love, friendship or just being a good colleague involves teamwork even or perhaps especially when the team comprises of only two. 

Some people are not into a give-and-take scenario. They see something in someone they want and feel entitled - if only by association - to take, take, and take again. They have discovered an offload Channel, but not a two-way one. (Reciprocity is not in their vocabulary.) When it comes to giving something back, they don’t want to know since any relationship has to be on their terms or not at all. For the most part, they are not nasty people in the least (just being human?) and can be good company when life is running smoothly, but are too self-centred and self-absorbed to be anything but takers; being a giver requires too much effort, imposes on their personal space and makes unfair demands on their time. What we see is far less than what we get. (I remember thinking that once on a school visit to a waxworks museum.)

Meanwhile...

Reason not the need,’ cries King Lear in what is considered by many (including me) to be the greatest of Shakespeare’s plays.

It is true that need sets itself above reason in the sense that human nature rarely answers to logic. So when a follower of logic puts to a follower of religion, that he or she might explain what they mean by God, any reply is more likely to pertain to a personal  need than anything reason can attempt to rationalise. Oh, there will be references made to Holy Books and the usual get-out clause about Faith having less to do with reason than trust and/or divine inspiration, but that doesn’t really answer the question. 

As regular readers will know, it has long been my personal belief that religion has far more to do with a person’s need to believe in God than the existence of God as anything other than a metaphorical force behind all that is good in the world as opposed to all that is bad. That isn't to say, I don’t respect that need, I do. Moreover, I can relate to it far more than I can relate to any personified God. I respect all Faiths, too, but can neither enter into any nor would want to because, for me, Belief is not enough. I need to ask questions and keep on asking questions until any answers I may find begin to make some kind of sense rather like pieces in a jigsaw.

You, me, us…we are all parts of the same jigsaw.

If a sense of spirituality inspires me to ask questions, I take it from nature, my mentor in such matters even in childhood where religion offered me nothing no matter what I was told to the contrary or how hard I looked. More often than not, any debate abut existential life forces invariably shapes up along the lines of playing a blame game. At the end of the day, though, humankind has to accept its share o collective as well as personal blame for any natural and/or human forces working against a Here-and-Now playing host to both its natural and human worlds for better, for worse.

This poem is a kenning. 

KEY WORKER EXTRAORDINARY 

I am the curator

of a love-to-hate museum

down our way

where we all come to see

whatever it is we need

to be, smell, do a double-take

on works of art

bent on taking us to task

for our shortcomings

I am the curator

of obscure desires haunting

mind-body-spirit,

inspiring orgasms sublime

just for playing time

at its own game, letting its tides

take the blame,

(any old scapegoat will do)  

for its shortcomings

I am the creator

of a love-to-hate museum

down your way,

harbouring all creativity’s

burning desire

to expose in this or that travesty

of humanity,

as good a reflection as any

of its shortcomings

Call me God, Devil or Fate as may be;

any answers lie at the heart of M-E

Copyright R. N. Taber 2011; 2020

The Visionary, a Man of Substance

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

As regular readers well know, I never post comments but always read and appreciate them, even the less kind ones. 

Meanwhile…

Someone once asked me if I had any heroes. I replied that, off the top of my head, Martin Luther King is the first name that springs to mind. The person who posed the question appeared genuinely puzzled because King was black and I am white, asking, "Didn't he champion equal rights for black people?" Of course he did, but ‘equal rights’ is the key phrase here.

I am passionate about equality and a common humanity, passionate too about peace and love and how the people of this world should respect each other’s differences instead of using them as an excuse for stirring up division and unrest, even wars.

All that is good in the world is worth fighting for and all that is bad cries out to be exposed and (hopefully) rectified…however long it takes.

I was in my early 20s when Dr King was assassinated. Yes, his legacy is perhaps cherished most among black people but this is one white poet who learned a lot from this great man whom I have long counted among my heroes and always will. Although no poem can do justice to the man and his work, it was written in good faith.

Regular readers will know I am not a religious person in so far as I do not subscribe to any of the world religions, but, as I see it, that shouldn't prevent me admiring someone  who spoke out against prejudice and inequality at a time when both were much in evidence, and sadly remain so in many communities and parts of the world to this day. Indeed, the irony of poet, Robert Browning's words, 'God's in His heaven/ All's right with the world.' (from Pippa Passes) has never been lost on yours truly since I first encountered it as a schoolboy in the 1950's.😉

THE VISIONARY, A MAN OF SUBSTANCE 

He had a Dream, shared it with the world;
many listened, but others would not,
(some learn lessons taught, others soon forget)
given human nature's common inclination
to deny home truths to deserving ears, regardless
of who we are or where we stand on the need
to bring certain socio-cultural-political agendas
in line with such common realities as test
its communities, prove how actions speak louder
than words regarding its flaws 

Nor should it matter, the colour of his skin
only the shades of its naming, shaming 
such pain and prejudices as bigots feast upon
to show a world inept at stitching its seams,
patches always at the ready to cover any flaws,
proof of its failing to put us (all) through
our paces, unite even populaces in those places
least inclined to acknowledge injustices;
rhetoric, sweetener enough to prevent home truths
shouting from too many rooftops 

All that glisters is not gold nor all that’s aged
grown old, however much we’ve seen
since time began and taught us how to dream,
envisaging humanity running true without
having to shoot down any living thing too close
for comfort, posing a threat to personal space,
blurring thoughts of a common humanity 
in whose future we (all) can play a lead part 
by encouraging its more honest brokers to speak out
on all that's (still) not right with it

Copyright R. N. Taber 2004, rev.2021 

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in The Third Eye by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2001; a later version that appeared on the blog  in 2013  has been since revised again in 2021.] RNT

 

Time Out

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

Today’s poem last appeared on the blogs in 2009 and I am repeating it today especially for a ‘L. P.’ who has been in touch to ask how best to tell family and friends he is gay. Another young man once asked when I thought might be a good time to tell his parents he had no intention of marrying the young woman his family have chosen for him. I also told them both that, it is their decision and theirs alone, but the longer they wait, the harder it will be. Nor should we blame ourselves for any hurt caused by standing out ground when we feel the need. We are not answerable for the shortcomings and/or short sightedness of others.

Is there ever a right time to tell someone something with which they may feel uncomfortable? Home truths, for example, never go down well at first if at all.

Ah, but we should not underestimate the power of common sense, and even less so the heart’s capacity to argue with questionable reason...and win.

Just as most LGBT people need to make time to tell family and friends about their sexuality, so those among the heterosexual majority who decide to go against parental well-meaning for their well-being and choose another path also need to choose their moment with care. Yes, with care, for diplomacy can only ever help win over the opposition.

In some instances, of course, there will rarely if ever be a ‘right’ time to raise this matter or that. Yet, the more serious the matter and the more intensely it concerns us, the more important it is that we make time to let the people who matter to us know that it’s the way in life we propose to follow, and are confident it is right for us.
,
Whether any attempts at diplomacy succeed or not, only time will tell ... and time demands both parties fully respect if not fully understand each other's point of view. Everyone needs to take time out in their lives to reconsider taking sides against others simply because they are 'different'; in other words, they do not conform to our own conventions/expectations. I suspect it is up to younger generations, from all walks of life, to lead the way in proving that our differences do not make us different, only human.

Did I say it was easy?

TIME OUT

Doors half opening, half closing;
windows flung wide, slammed shut;
roads stretching, bending;
children born and growing so fast;
parents coming, going,
working, and trying their hardest
to make out they won’t
even mind dying, but only so long
as the timing’s - what, right?

Earth flung, heaped, piling up;
nature’s buds opening, now closing;
dirt tracks stretching, bending;
world's birds singing while nesting;
parents coming, going,
and working at trying their hardest
to make out they won’t
even mind chicks flying off so long
as the timing’s - what, right?

More flinging, slamming about;
hungry mouths opening, now closing;
bony legs stretching, bending;
a capacity for love born, growing fast;
doubts coming, going,
working at trying their hardest
to fool us they not only
have our very best interests at heart,
but their timing’s - what, right?

Seasons of animal, vegetable, mineral,
leaving no time to make sense of it all

Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2011

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'A Question of Timing' in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005.]