Origin of a Species

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

As I grow old, I seem to identify less and less with the world as it is today, not least for years of hormone therapy for my prostate cancer depriving me of so many happier memories relating to much happier times. If I had known when my cancer was first diagnosed, I would have chosen to have no treatment at all. 

But... it is as it is, and no one to blame but myself. I suspect many of not most of us we make as many bad as good choices in life. 

We do have choices, though, even if ‘freedom” of choice’ has become something of an exaggeration. Why, for example, if a person’s quality of life has become barely tolerable does assisted suicide remain illegal? Various world religions will argue against it, of course, but why should someone who doesn’t even subscribe to these be made to continue suffering or die by their own hand alone? Even if one does subscribe, how does suffering and/or dying alone equate with the God of Love religious bodies are so anxious we should believe in... or what? 

Some religions would see me in Hell because I am gay, but sexuality is not a choice, it is no less an aspect of the human condition than heterosexuality; being of any LGBT persuasion is simply human, and does not deserve either the hate crime or bad press to which we are often subjected, even in a supposedly ‘civilised’ 21^st century. 

History shows that prejudices and bigotry have always existed in various societies and communities worldwide, but if history is an evolving process in the living drama that is a common humanity... how come swathes of common humanity remain hug-up on various sexual, racial and gender prejudices...to name but a few? 

We may well have good reason not to like someone (and they, us) but that’s personal; nurturing any prejudice against someone simply on the grounds of their gender, ethnicity or sexuality... well, that takes ‘personal’ to a new and wholly unacceptable level. (Well, doesn’t it...?) Mind you, I suspect I am not the only person weary of being accused of bigotry when the tensions between me and others have been of a purely personal nature...  

It really is a mad, mad, mad world. 

ORIGINS OF A SPECIES 

I come into the world as I am,
leave it as it has made me, for better or worse,
in sickness or in health,
much the same whole as started out
for all its parts shaping
and reshaping me depending on how the world
would have me be, and resistant
I may prove to be in the face of its various measures
of division, interpretation and derision 

I come into the world as I am
child of nature, born of woman, created either
for pleasure or lust,
as needs must we creatures great and small
do our bit for regeneration,
trusting in something as positive passing on
from generation to generation
as will ever see the beauty of integrity’s seasons come,
nature and human nature’s will be done 

I come into the world as I am,
vulnerable to its divisive ways, each supposedly
caring for the likes of me,
but only on terms acceptable to such aspects
of a (common) humanity
as likely to find favour with whatever line of duty
I’ve been groomed for, in the name
of whatever socio-cultural-religious or political education;
in whose best interests, up for speculation 

Open-hearted, open-minded, I’m a species of human spirit
for whom its self-styled “betters” so love to reap credit 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mind-Body-Spirit, no Open-and-Shut Case

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

Regular readers will know that I am a great believer in both free speech and agreeing to differ. The info on the link below appals me.

https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2019/05/islamophobia-definition-unfit-for-purpose-say-campaigners

I would no more support Islam than any other world religion, but neither would I ever reject anyone for their religion alone, however much I might dispute its dogma. Furthermore, I have met many Muslims, especially among younger people, who also would not  presume to pre-judge a person by their religion or non-religion, as the case may be. 

Who we are - the person we are - is the sum of all our parts; taken individually, these same parts cannot be taken to represent us.

Now, I don't subscribe to any major religion because I have issues with many aspects of their various dogma. To suggest this makes me a bigot or racist is, to my mind, absurd. Similarly, I have issues with many if not all political parties. Do I deserve to be shouted down for saying so? I think not, even if human nature, self-obsessed as it is often found to be, might well argue otherwise.

Religion is not a side entrance to politics, which is exactly how it is being made to appear time and again on the world stage; Islam is no exception, nor should it be seen to be.

I have worked alongside men and women people from all walks of life and of various socio-religious-political persuasions and met others at poetry readings I have given around the country. 

I deplore bigotry in any shape or form; there are those, though, who have expressed reservations (to say the least) about LGBT people, usually couched in such a way that they cannot be accused of being overtly politically incorrect. People will often confide that, while they mean no offence, they are simply 'not comfortable' around us, although I have to wonder why, in that case, many of those same people have been ok with working alongside a gay poet and even attending his poetry readings ... ?

We are a common if diverse humanity, whose individual differences do not make us any more or less a part of it, whoever or wherever we are; our contributions to it may well vary in shape and form, but human history will be the best judge of that while (hopefully) passing on any lessons learned. 

Those among us inclined to put Mind-Body-Spirit in the dock from time to time, not least our own as much as anyone else's - will be only too familiar with open verdicts.

This poem is a kenning.

MIND-BODY-SPIRIT, NO OPEN-AND-SHUT CASE 

I am more than any religion,

politics, social standing in a world

preoccupied with the parts

comprising who we are rather than

the sum of these,

attacked for being unfit for purpose

by any who disagree,

appointed judge and jury by default

to human nature

I am more than stereotypes

love to make out, convey my all

to a world preferring

assumptions to finding out for itself

what makes us tick;

never a simple equation in archives

of human history,

ever tailored to measure according

to cloth and clout

I am more than you observe

on any street, in any public forum

where that other self

I choose to show to family, friends,

may well stay hid;

but give me the benefit of any doubt,

go the last mile, and let’s see

if a common humanity can’t reconcile

on common ground?

I am Personal Space, that life-secret

last heard of passing an open verdict

Copyright R. N. Taber 20120

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

L-O-V-E, Bridges over Time

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

Today’s poem first appeared on the blog in 2016.

My heart goes out to any readers who may be in Spain and will now need to self-isolate for two weeks on their return. Hopefully, at least a return flight will be available as the travel industry is, understandably, in some disarray at the moment. 

Now, I am often asked for the link to an interview I gave Benjamin Richter, a student in multimedia journalism earlier this year. I have added it to several blog posts, but here it is again for anyone who may have missed it might be interested: 

https://r224e31251.racontr.com/index.html

Love and hate are among the strongest of human passions, and can always be relied upon to leave a deep impression on us; so deep, it can last a lifetime and beyond. Whoever we are, wherever, and whatever our gender or sexuality, love, in all its shapes and forms, is by far the more enduring and will always have the edge if only because it is a positive force for good; positive forces for anything less may well survive the test of time in terms of a human life span, but not necessarily across that posthumous consciousness which - knowingly or unknowingly - embraces us all.

A kind act here, a wise word there ... these affect each and every one of us  and, in turn, others with whom we  come into contact - casually or intimately - during our lifetimes, ensuring that a part of us survives as a sense of posthumous consciousness in which we play a 'live' role long after our deaths.  

L-O-V-E, BRIDGES OVER TIME

One summer we lay beneath a willow tree,

gazing at a fluffy, leafy, sky,

passionate branches like arms around me,

enduring river flowing idly by

Time then to laugh, play, see kingfishers dive

for shimmering scales defying capture

in vain, an inspired will to stay alive

to the last breath, like love’s gasping rapture

Daring to dream, we made that summer ours,

let joyful birdsong drown the river’s sighs

till autumn’s beating at heaven’s towers

brought us, half-listening, to the world’s lies

Wherever tablets of stone that would see us part,

find a willow tree weeping the human heart

Copyright R. N. Taber 2007; 2020

[Note: An earlier version of his poem appears under the title 'Separate Stones' in Accomplices to Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007]

Damper, In-out-In ... OR Tempering the Human Consciousness

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

Today’s poem has not appeared on the blog since 2016; it was slightly revised in 2003 (for my collection the following year) from an earlier [1980's] poem, and you are invited to make of it what you will.

Now, in my 70's, I still find myself recalling the words of a song from early childhood:

Well, you push the damper in and you pull the damper out,

but the smoke goes up the chimney just the same…

I well recall what a teacher once said (n the 1950's) when I asked about philosophy, having read the word in a book and found a dictionary of little help. (I was 11 years-old.) ‘Philosophy,’ he mused, possibly more to himself than to me, ‘…is a vehicle for language devised by human nature to fire its passions without its having to commit to any responsibility other than just that. Think of the fireplace damper in your living room at home; the more it is opened, the more air to fuel the fire. So it is, as I see it, with philosophy. The more open a mind you apply, the fiercer the passions of intellect are sure to burn. On the other hand, if it’s absolute proof or even meaning you’re after, that is tantamount to the damper being closed and the fire left to go out. Either way, we have to be prepared for some smoke in our eyes ir not our Does that answer your question?’ It did not, of course (and I'm pretty sure he knew it) but I hadn’t the nerve to say so. Besides, my head was already swimming.

Years on, I begin to see the appropriateness of the simile although I should perhaps add that, as I progressed from first year to 6th form, I came to see my teacher, for whom I had much affection and respect, as something of a devil's advocate. As for philosophy, I am still inclined to see it as wisdom's get-out clause for explaining away everything and nothing.

DAMPER, IN-OUT-IN … or TEMPERING THE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS

Thoughts

drifting, circling,

sending us here, there,

everywhere,

ever homing in 

on us …

obscuring,

deluding and confusing

the senses about

who we are, 

where we’re going,

whatever will become

of us …?

Rumours

drifting, circling,

sending us here, there

everywhere,

ever homing in

on us ...

obscuring,

deluding and confusing 

rights and wrongs

keeping an eye on us

like buzzards

in a mist anticipating

our end

Hopes

drifting, circling,

sending us here, there,

everywhere,

ever homing in on us,

obscuring, 

resolving to get the better

of any delusion

or confusion driving us

to ask who we are, 

going where,

whatever will become

of us …?

History

drifting, circling,

sending us here, there,

everywhere,

feeding leftover dreams

to mind-body-spirit,

intending to reassure us

who we are,

and going where, if only

we can get it right,

wherever it is we need

to be going,

whatever will become

of us

Copyright R. N. Taber 2005; 2020

[Note: An earlier version of this poem was first published under the title Smokescreen in an anthology Sometimes I Wonder, Anchor Books [Forward Press] 2004 and subsequently in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005]

Stressed Out OR Engaging with Covid-19

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

A reader has asked me to repeat the link to my YouTube channel where I read poems over videos shot my best friend, Graham; he is a graphic designer and we are hoping to exhibit some of my poems written during the C-19 pandemic along with appropriate graphic art-work. Fingers crossed …

Sadly, for various reasons, we have been unable to create new additions for some time:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UUSdhLgPQOsng2Xz8n5m0ViQ

Another reader asks how I can “… write about a ‘common humanity’ when so many of us are as different as chalk from cheese.” Well as I have continued to put it to blog readers for a good 10 years now, our differences do not make us different, only human; nor would humanity be so divided were more people and societies only more willing to agree to differ and find (other) common grounds for making peace instead of war.

Nothing exacerbates differences of opinion than being under stress so I suspect there is many a household across the world struggling with divisions erupting left, right and centre among family members and any friends whom social distancing allows them to see. A Muslim neighbour commented just the other day to the effect that in spite of all the horror inflicted by the C-19 coronavirus “We are all in it together, a Family of Man for once instead of a bunch of stereotypes causing more pain over a far longer period of time than any virus.” I get it, don’t you?

Hopefully, once we have either defeated or at least learned to control the spread of C-19 (rather than its controlling us) many if not most of us will look back on what continues to run like something out of a horror story and remember how we were, indeed, all of us in it together, regardless of ethnicity, culture, religious or (yes) sexual persuasion. One in the eye for the bigots perhaps, enough to cause a change of heart? Yes, well, they do say hope springs eternal …

Lines from a 19^th century novel seem to me to be as appropriate now as it was then:

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” 
- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

How can I possibly suggest that this could, in any way shape or form, be interpreted as ‘the best of times’? Well, we are all in it together, aren’t we? The pandemic is the worst crisis the world has had to face since World War 2; we pulled together then, too, and this time Germany is not the enemy, but pulling together with us; a common humanity that, hopefully, will continue to work together long after the Covid -19 coronavirus is a thing of our distant past.

STRESSED OUT or ENGAGING WITH COVID-19 

Another day,

rise ‘n’ shine, willpower

touching base

with an alter ego

that’s long since lost sight

of any get-up-go

Another day

of waking up to memory

playing tricks on me;

Where is whatever,

and who moved it anyway?

(Not me, surely?)

Another day

on old Forget-me-Not lane

(a wistful sigh);

logging on to images

that would mean the world

should I recall why

Another day

of shopping locally, list left

at home (of course);

chatting with folks

whom I do my best to place,

for better, for worse

Another day,

walking a few laps of the park

if only to keep fit;

social distancing

making sure of no seat in sight

for tired feet

No park keeper;

C-19 guidelines abused by egos

guaranteed

to defy regulations

likely to cause inconvenience

and hurt pride

Another day

of people being people, all things

left unequal

but for mind-body spirit’s

being equal to the task of rising

above it all

Copyright R. N. Taber 2020

Somewhere, In-Between

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

During the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic I have witnessed several headed arguments about the wearing of face masks. I discussed this with a GP at the start of the crisis and, basically, she said t was down to individual choice, that it would not sop anyone getting the virus but it may well help slow the spread of it. I have only been verbally abused once for not wearing a face mask, and I gave as good as I got.  I am very uncomfortable wearing a mask;  my breathing is becomes difficult and I get very stressed out. I had the virus in early January when I misinterpreted all the symptoms as a very bad cold and stayed indoors. I am also of a generation taught to put a hand or handkerchief across our mouths when we cough or sneeze,  As someone who uses public transport a lot in normal times, I have to say that many people do not bother even with this simple act of hygiene. When life gets back to some semblance of normality, I will wear a mask on public transport whether it becomes mandatory or not. Meanwhile, all the while it is voluntary, I will continue as I am.

When not directly involved, it is often possible to see both sides of an argument or divisive situation. We then, of course, leave ourselves open to the accusation that we’re sitting on the proverbial fence. Well, as my mother used to say, there is nothing wrong with that so long as we are prepared to jump down and take sides should the need arise.

Seeing both sides can help us to move a peace process along; it can also create further divisions and lose us friends among those convinced they are in the right so everyone else must not only be in the wrong but an ‘enemy’ for thinking so. (I dare say I'm not the only person to have been squeezed out of certain areas of circulation in that way.)

Yes, life can be tough for those 'in-betweeners' of this world. Mind you, as I have already pointed our regarding my mother's wise advice, no one can sit on any fence forever and we all need to be prepared to jump down on one side or the other when (as invariably it does) push comes to shove .. .

AS I see it, if more people were inclined to agree to differ instead of insisting on open conflict, the planet, its various societies and those of us within those societies would enjoy a far happier and more peaceful life.

SOMEWHERE, IN-BETWEEN

Day is day

as night is night;

in-between, a twilight

always playing tug-of-war

with us

Love is love

as hate is hate,

yet we can always find an affinity

with both

Dreamers dream

as nightmares haunt,

infiltrating a native stoicism

in us

Beggars beg

while rich men profit

insinuating a sense of fatalism

in us

Brave is brave

as scared is scared,

yet we can always find an affinity

with both

Day is day

as night is night;

in-between, a twilight

always playing tug-of-war

with us

Copyright R. N. Taber 2017; 2020

Mind-Body-Spirit, Lie of the Land

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

A Religious Education teacher at my secondary school once compared the task of a land surveyor, in becoming familiar with the lie of a landscape in order to record its features for future reference, to the human spirit’s becoming familiar features of the human landscape. Although he never brought me to religion, he brought my attention to many things which the poet in me would later identify/ interpret and attempt to record, increasingly so as the man in me would experience more of humanity and its existential landscapes.

From time to time I have expressed my personal view that religion has no monopoly on spirituality. Several readers have taken issue with this, arguing that spirituality is derived from an affinity with religion and cannot be seen as a separate entity. Fair enough, but we must agree to differ. My affinity with nature is such that I consider myself something of a pantheist. While I cannot relate to any personification of God, I recognise a sense of something bigger and stronger than anything man-made emanating from my surroundings. Call it spirituality, imagination, wishful thinking … whatever; it is there, a part of us all, whatever our socio-cultural-religious (or sexual) persuasion.

During the present Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, there have been many instances of people in lock-downs around the world being willing and able to put aside their differences and pulling together to help one another. But not everywhere, and not everyone. Many people living alone, for example, feel isolated and all but forgotten, simply left to find their own way through it all; in other words, precious little change from the status quo but from its intensity being raised to a new level.

Whoever and wherever we are in the world, though, few if any of us are entirely without any experience of the power of human love, in whatever context;  it is in that we place our hopes and desires, and on that we draw both strength and resolve to see each day though, whatever it may throw at us. Religion may or may note be a part of the human equation, but it is cannot compete with the fundamentals that may well depart from any religious dogma, nor are fazed by human divisions and differences, but lie at the root of all things and bring all natural life forms into their own; the greater of these being love in all its s various shape, sizes and (invariably) a mind of its own.

MIND-BODY-SPIRIT, LIE OF THE LAND

Through a long, lonely day

and tears-fears flowing

for all the pain-joy of living,

here, too, love lies

I’ll watch from my window

at birds nesting, chicks

being fed their raison d'être;

here, too, love lies

Friends, neighbours, bridging

any social distancing

with ways to show they care;

here too, love lies

To all life forces, a beginning,

ending and, yes, a sense

of loss, tempered by memories;

here, too, love lies

As the human spirit rises above

any tears, reconciling

with loss on a Bridge of Love;

here, too, life lies

Copyright R. N. Taber 2020

Engaging with Disillusionment

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

Not infrequently, readers (among others) people confide how they feel helpless against a tide of socio-cultural-religious forces manipulated by various leaders to their own advantage and/or agenda to the detriment of anyone who chooses not to wear a mask. ‘Why are we all so divided?’ someone only recently wailed in my ear, ‘Why must it take a tragedy like a terrorist atrocity to bring people together …until innate differences start to drive them apart again?

On the grounds that repeating the obvious is sometimes necessary if only to prevent its being lost in a sea of trite, I often make the point in my blogs that our differences do not make us different, simply human; we can and should learn from them, not gang up against them. Far too many if not most socio-cultural-religious leaders are invariably quick to agree in principle, but less willing to practise what they preach.

So… what can we do?

It is (surely?) down to each and every one of us to live our lives as best we can and try not to be judgemental, the very trap our leaders and so-called ‘betters’ would have us fall into by appearing to refute it, thereby planting the very seeds of division in our minds that suit their individual purposes while cleverly avoiding either blame or responsibility.

A socio-cultural-religious metaphor may well be a chess master’s political strategy where the likes of you and I are taken to be vulnerable pawns; it is, however, a game that two can play...

Being our own person (no pressure or aspiration to be someone else) and living our lives as  best we can, refusing to be put down by unfair or irrelevant comparisons...now, that is what's known as being on a winning side.

Who wants to go through life being made to feel a loser by so-called 'betters' who are often only any better than the rest of us by virtue of their being in a position  to make us feel worse,various  if only by pulling invisible strings attached to various socio-cultural-political and/or religious trappings lending them a sense of authority?

ENGAGING WITH DISILLUSIONMENT

What is it really all about,

I’d ask myself as a child, this growing up

among restless giants…?

Why do giants have a mask

for every occasion, always seem so wary

of letting any slip…?

(Why must I tread so warily

for fear of offending by just being honest,

speaking my mind…?)

Diplomacy is all very well,

but no substitute (surely?) for keeping faith

with basic principles…

Oh, and what of love’s light,

come to guide us through a darkening world,

but frequently cutting out?

Yes, we need rules to live by

or sheer chaos likely to get the better of us all,

but who rules what, for whom?

It’s a discerning inner eye

that perceives the flaws in any moral authority

over anxious to flex its muscles

So where does that leave us,

who can but trust basic instincts albeit thwarted

at every turn of phrase and policy?

It leaves us strong, stoic, free

to speak up, make ourselves seen, felt and heard,

risk being ignored, mocked, bullied…

Or... what has it all been for,

I ask myself each new day as time rushes on past

and I grow old…?

Copyright R. N. Taber 2017

[Note: An earlier version of this poems appeared on the blog several years ago under the title 'Living with Giants'.]

This Frantic Earth

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

Readers (gay, straight, male, female, all ages) sometimes get in touch when they are visiting London and we meet up for a few drinks and/or a meal and generally put the world to rights. I always enjoy these meet-ups so never hesitate to email me if you want to get together for a friendly chat about… whatever. Email me anyway, if you happen to be in the mood.  I always reply to emails, but don’t allow comments because they take up too much space.

I must thank all those readers who emailed me when I was housebound for nearly six months after my accident last year. Our exchanges were a welcome relief from pain and boredom.

Now, men and women of all socio-cultural-religious backgrounds have fought for peace, and are still fighting towards the same end. Yet, I sometimes look around at the alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally ill and homeless people on our streets, not to mention those with a glazed look in their eyes as if they are not sure where they are going or why…and wonder, whatever happened to peace and is Armageddon perhaps closer to us here on the Home Front than any of us realize …?

We can do more for the less fortunate in our societies, surely, or could it be the case that the well-heeled among us, including many world leaders to be found in various echelons of various societies (not excluding political or religious) believe peace is little more than a public relations issue, well worth exploiting but as a distraction from self-interest rather than a permanent end in view?

And what is peace? It is not simply a matter of feeling secure. We may feel secure in our homes, jobs etc. if far less so in this Age of Austerity and the ever-present threat of so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups, but how far are we ever at peace within ourselves? If we don't watch out, we may well meet our own Armageddon. (Regular readers will know that I believe positive thinking is the key to winning even those battles we may appear to have lost...in love, war, and all our other - less obvious perhaps, but no less significant - dealings with human nature, especially in relation to self-esteem.)

No easy answers, for sure. But maybe we should start asking the right questions?  No one wants to look in a mirror and see the enemy. If world peace is an elusive ideal, we CAN make peace with ourselves and each other, trusting its ripples to spread... or global warming alone is likely to get the better of us all.

This poem is a villanelle. 

THIS FRANTIC EARTH

Earth, a frantic heartbeat
its star-crossed lovers dying too soon,
body bags in every street

Short straws, open secret.
birds crying, fat cats calling the tune;
Earth, a frantic heartbeat

Apollo turning up the heat,
tears for fears on the face of the moon,
body bags in every street

H-E-L-P, can't ever compete 
with denials of acid rain any time soon;
Earth, a frantic heartbeat

So what's it all about?
(weather pundits tracking High Noon?)
body bags in every street

No-hopers on a rout,
(blaming God for bringing them down);
Earth, a frantic heartbeat

Copyright R. N. Taber 2003; 2020

[Note: An earlier version of this poem under the title 'Towards Armageddon' first appeared in an anthology Caught in Time, Poetry Now (Forward Press) 2003 and in The Third Eye by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2004.]

Guest Speaker

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

Here is another poem that I came across as I work my way though my later print collections in order to (eventually) post revised editions of all my collections online; it does not appear elsewhere on the blog... (Earlier ones will be more time-consuming as I have since revised many of the poems,)  Oh, and anyone interested will also find 'new' poems on my gay-interest poetry blog.

At the time this poem was written, multiculturalism was still finding is way in the UK; although it has been an aspect of society here for years, a growing immigrant population, and a mixed media reaction to it, meant everyone began focusing on the issue with increasing intensity and - as often as not - increasing criticism.Thankfully, most people accept multiculturalism as part of everyday life, but it continues to have its critics, especially where various socio-cultural-religious issues are concerned.

Why, oh, why can't people simply agree to differ and enjoy a feisty debate without recourse to race or gender issues that are no more relevant to the modern world than dinosaurs?

This poem is a kenning or a "Who am I?" poem as the kenning is often called.

GUEST SPEAKER

I am relatively new

to the world’s societies

bent on testing me

to the limits of tolerance

towards a diversity

keen to embrace everyone,

regardless of race, sex

or creed if on its divisions

determined to feed

I dare have my say

in public places, Holy Books,

political manifestos,

though adults (as a rule)

less likely to grasp

what it is we’re getting at

than the child at school

asked what he or she thinks

life is all about

We have to live together,

which means more agreeing

to differ, if only to defuse

rising discontent with animosity

dished up by this culture

or that religion vying for priority

with precious little respect

for a common humanity

Engage with me, Multiculturalism,

expose any Politics of Separatism

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title, 'Footnote to a Treatise on Abuse' in Tracking the Torchbearer, Assembly Books, 2012.]

Where Freedom Keeps its Word

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

Today's poem first appeared on my gay-interest blog in June 2012; anyone interested in the original post is welcome to visit that blog's archives (listed on the right hand side of any blog page.)

Same sex marriage is about to be legalised in Northern Ireland, having lagged behind the rest of the UK for about 5 years. Catholics will not be happy, but surely Freedom of Choice should be every person's right?Similarly abortion in N. I. is being be decriminalised; it is every woman's right to know and choose what is best for her own body. The Democratic Unionist Party (D.U.P) have maintained throughout the shambolic Brexit debate in Parliament that nothing should be signed up to that makes N. I. different to the UK, but there have been differences for years.

Family should provide sanctuary for all of us, but this is not always the case. Love should not be a hiding place from family and friends, but something we are proud to share with them.  Nor does being unable to enter into such pride mean being ashamed; too often, it simply means being scared and/or unwilling to light a slow-burning fuse of confrontation that can only end in tears and worse.

I well recall how, years ago when anti-gay legislation here kept me in a cold, dark, closet; a love far removed from any feelings for family and friends was the only sanctuary on hand. Gay or straight, if we choose a partner of whom our families disapprove - for whatever reason - it can and does cause so much heartbreak for everyone concerned. We may well disapprove of another's choice, that is our prerogative, but it is really none of our business so we can at least respect it and do our best to be reconciled to it...surely? If we don't, can't or won't...that says more about us than anyone with whom we might take issue on...whatever.

Half a century on, I am estranged from my remaining family and have very different friends. It isn't a question of playing any blame game either, just the way it is. In some parts of this mad, mad world of ours, little has changed as far as LGBT rights are concerned; in law, yes, but while there may be  legislation for bad attitude, certain prejudices and hate crimes -  among them, homophobia and racism - remain alive and kicking even in so-called 'civilised' countries.

WHERE FREEDOM KEEPS ITS WORD

We’d hide in craters of the moon

so no one would see our tears,

make love in craters of the moon

where no one could hurt us;
what eyes can't see, hearts less likely
to fret over

We’d surf the Milky Way on stars

empathising with our history,

welcomed by old gods and heroes

who had seen it all before,
saddened to see so much of humanity
as divided as ever

We’d come to Earth now and then

but found no comfort there,

humanity (still) refusing to engage

positively with its prejudices lest it lose
the argument

The day came, we quit the sanctuary

of night skies for high noon,

let the world know all we’d learned

from old gods and heroes, let ourselves
be seen and heard

Reassured by Apollo’s ready smile,

we showed the world our tears,

shared secrets about moon craters

where none could hurt us but in our own
hearts and minds

Be sure, time will return us to space,

where Freedom keeps its word;

humanity (still) refusing to engage

positively with its prejudices lest it lose
the argument

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010