Spelling it Out

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

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein 

“The world helps you to keep evolving and hope it's for better. You have to rise above all the tragedies in life. You have to grow, and if you stop growing, you are old.” - Hrithik Roshan“

Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”- Helen Keller 

“Winter is a season of recovery and preparation.” - Paul Theroux  

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” ― Maya Angelou

Now, after all the fun and fireworks, the early days of any new year can become daunting as we place our hopes in what lies ahead, no idea whether or not we will see them fulfilled, fail in the attempt or be outwitted by forces beyond our control…? A scary prospect.  The more we contemplate a whole new year ahead, so excitement and enthusiasm may well give way to a mind-body-spirit likely to leave us  less able to think straight than the worst hangover ever.  

So…? We may well need help. We may well need a sounding board. We may well need a good friend (who knows us well) to confide in and help our more positive thoughts to find a voice, give us feedback, help us through the hangover into whatever it takes to help us confront, make sense of and (eventually) rise above whatever is gnawing away at us…

SPELLING IT OUT

Old year done and dusted,
another to get through, for better
or worse, as we can but try 
to keep looking on the bright(er) side
of life, whatever challenges
invading our personal space demand
we meet them head-on, 
resolve to tackle each as best we can,
bring out the best of being human

We can wish our cares away
to no avail, side-step, put on hold
our worst fears in vain,
inevitably have them catch us out
when we are least prepared
for not having thought them through,
shared our feelings with a friend,
sought more than a shoulder to cry on,
called on the best of being human

Every worry, every sadness
needs to find a voice, similarly
every voice needs someone
to listen to what it has to say, hear
what lies beyond the words,
help us to understand our world,
(even make it a kinder place?)
bring such inspiration to personal space
as lets heart-and-soul set the pace

Another year of spelling out You-Me-Us;
keywords: patience, peace, happiness

Copyright R. N. Taber 2023

[Note: This post-poem also appears on my gay poetry blog today, given that feedback continues to suggest that many LGBT readers remain inclined to give this one a miss.] RT

 

Hey, it's Snowing!

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

"If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?" - Percy Bysshe Shelley

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face". - Victor Hugo

"Autumn arrives in early morning, but spring at the close of a winter day." - Elizabeth Bowen 

"Advice is like snow - the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind."- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Now, winter can be a cold, miserable season, especially as we grow old, comfort and joy over festivities relatively short-lived. Yet, the simple sound of children having fun building a snowman can warm the cockles of even the most sceptical heart among us…if we but make time to let it.

As much of the UK experiences its first winter snowfall, even many a disgruntled commuter and shopper is also  discovering that it is better to take snow in their stride and wear an infectious smile than be a miserable so-and-so, adamantly refusing to look on the bright(er) side of life...😉

HEY, IT’S SNOWING…!

Gardens covered in snow
trees all-a-glitter in the morning sun,

Everyone moved by the view
from a cosy indoors
until they need to venture outside
to go to work, school, 
whatever the reason, now having 
to do battle with a freezing winter’s day,
come what may

Motorists menaced by fog
obscuring even the sharpest vision;
icy surfaces demanding
extra care, pedestrians under no less
threat of injury from falls,
especially the old and frail, welcoming
a steadying hand now and then
as sudden, bursts of the white stuff strike 
young and old alike 

A thin spread of ice on ponds,
and lakes inviting, but best avoided
for safety’s sake,
better to build a snowman, sounds
of fun and laughter
warming the cockles of hearts worldwide
seeking respite from the cold,
looking to engage with sunnier memories
to relax, find peace

Inner eye, following footprints in the snow
where spring flowers are preparing to grow

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

A Feeling for Spring

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

“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.” - Mark Twain

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

“The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.” - Harriet Beecher Stowe 

“For every minute you remain angry, you give up sixty seconds of peace of mind.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reader A. D. asks why I am “… so preoccupied with inter-communication between people, so-called ‘agreeing to differ’ and engaging in discussion even about personal issues where there are clearly radical differences of opinion. “Better for everyone, surely,” he or she suggests, “to let sleeping dogs lie?”  Well, we must, indeed, agree to differ, say so and shake on it. In my experience many if not most such 'sleeping dogs' are badly in need of a wake-up call; being left to sleep on,  thereby likely to inflict such damage on human relationships as not easily mended.

One of the greater tragedies of human nature is the inability or reluctance of many people to confront those against whom they may hold a grudge, invariably for fear of having to endure a bitter exchange of insults, commonly referred to as ‘home truths'.

Both parties are usually to blame, to some extent for broken relationships, but it takes only one to make a start on a healing process.  Many of us, including yours truly, have no idea how to make a start, whether it be with a family member, friend or neighbour, often for fear of being accused of simply making excuses for what has been perceived as unforgivable behaviour, but may well have been a misunderstanding due to circumstances left unshared. 

The longer any misunderstanding or genuine excuse remains silent, refusing to engage in any healing process, the longer any grudge will fester, mind-body-spirit, turning a deaf ear to whatever heart-and-soul is constantly mulling, even grieving over.

True, some broken relationships cannot be mended, but not for want of trying. Better to have tried and failed than never to have tried at all, though, surely? The problem remains, though, that some well-meaning efforts may well be misinterpreted, taking us back to square one. Even so, an aggrieved heart-and-soul may yet find a welcome measure of peace for having dispended with the futility of harbouring grudges.

A FEELING FOR SPRING

I am so much the sweeter taste
and fragrance of life, just for having
shed those darker senses
keeping heart-and-soul from engaging
fully, openly, positively
with a mind -body-spirit struggling
under the growing weight
of  ill-judged expectations or responses
plunging knives into You-Me-Us

Having been given no opportunity
to put my side of things as misunderstood
and left to fester, bad feeling
getting the better of any finer senses 
of fair play, never spoken,
kept hidden in recesses of heart-and-soul
feeding on bitterness,
happiness left to but make the best it can
of the contrariness of being human

I am as that first full kiss or spring,
come to relieve the pain of such wintry days
as we have felt obliged
to endure, no hint of  choice, no voice
for having been unable
to penetrate certain defences, both yours
and mine, now worn down 
by tears for such likely misunderstandings 
as deserving of happier landings

I am Forgiveness, making time for a fresh start,
finally come to flower in the human heart

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

Rising Above White Noise OR Peace-and-Quiet, Life Force

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“Silence is a source of great strength.” Lao Tzu

“Silence is of different kinds and breathes different meanings.” – Charlotte Bronte

“We all should rise, above the clouds of ignorance, narrowness and selfishness.” Booker T. Washington

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” – James Baldwin

“What I am looking for is not out there, it is in me.” Helen Keller

“I daresay some would never get their eyes opened if it were not for a violent shock from the consequences of their own actions.” - George Eliot 

We all live in worrying times. Here in the UK it's not only not only the rising cost of living, but also as to whether or not an already under-staffed and over-stretched NHS can cope should the Covid-19 pandemic return to previous devastating levels. We also have a new prime minister. whose plans are far from clear as to what she has in mind to help steer us through it all.

Whatever lies in store for any of  us as we pass through autumn into winter, the average man and woman in the street has little control over any of it. This, alone, can cause high levels of frustration, even anger, sufficient even to make some people violent.

It is no coincidence, surely, that levels of domestic and street violence have risen in recent times?

As if this wasn’t enough, it would appear that climate change, too, is closing in on us faster than anyone anticipated.

We can but do our best to make a positive contribution, however great or small, and try to keep the peace within ourselves and between each other; a positive thinking mindset has to be as good a start as any, yes?

YES! 

RISING ABOVE WHITE NOISE or PEACE-AND-QUIET, LIFE FORCE

A frantic drumming in the head,
blood pressure rising,

mixed emotions driving a mist

all but blinding me

to all that’s threatening me,

but putting me on guard

against an unknown enemy I must defeat

though I stumble at every drumbeat

Sick at heart, weary of a world

whose burdens all but

crushing me, mind-body-spirit

left in so many pieces,

small chance of reconstruction,

such commotion in me

leaving me cloth-eared to a voice

growing fainter, yet screaming all the while

from a terror-struck heart-and-soul

Suddenly, all drumming ceases

the strangest silence 

inviting me to embrace it, ask of it

all questions, listen out

to a heart-and-soul inscribing words

of love, peace, kindness

and other secrets of survival on walls 

of an inner sanctum beyond even imagination,

commanding all my attention

Such is the spiritual nature of silence to enlighten,

if we but stop, look, listen and… learn

 Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

Lakeside

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

“A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable.” – William Wordsworth

“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake.” – Wallace Stevens

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” – Loren Eisley

While recovering from a nervous breakdown some 40+ years ago, I returned to my home county, Kent, often referred to as the Garden of England. I returned to a lake that my mother had taken me to visit many years ago; it helped (a lot) to renew a sense of positive perspective in me.

I guess, going back can help us move forwards, although not a good idea to stay too long and get bogged down in wishful thinking...!

LAKESIDE

One day, I went for a walk
in a local park not far from home,
a light breeze in my hair…
paused by a lake to watch fishes
glide by, glanced down
and experienced a stab of surprise,
failing at first to recognize
a face looking back at me as my own
for looking old, tired and worn

I’d always thought of myself
as one among the young at heart;
no traces of that here,
gazing back at me, all but accusingly,
catching me out in denial
of a Here-and-Now closing in on me
that I cared not to acknowledge
for fear of having to yield to and admit
a sense of loneliness and defeat

Mind-body-spirit then chose
to take me along paths old and new,
past sunny milestones
as well as weepy tombstones,
among sounds of laughter and tears
that have had me ride
such winds, earth and seas across
prose and poetry as have also shown me
a happy, sad ’n’ bad humanity

A face in the lake tossed me a wry smile,
made its peace with heart-and-soul

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

 

A Life in the Day of a Smile

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“Pain pays the income of each precious thing.” - William Shakespeare

¨What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity. These are but trifles, to be sure; but scattered along life’s pathway, the good they do is inconceivable. ¨- Joseph Addison

“A warm smile id the universal language of kindness2. – William Arthur Ward

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” – E. E. Cummings

"Peace begins with a smile."- Mother Teresa

Now, on the face of it, there’s not much to smile about at the moment, with soaring living and food costs and staffing problems in just about every corner of society having a knock-on effect in all kinds of ways. 

Even so, better to grit our teeth and raise a smile, surely, that waste precious time and energy crying over spilt milk? Never easy, as I have said many times on the blog, but Hobson’s choice in so far as we sink or we swim. 

Besides, managing a smile, even a laugh in the face of adversity, never fails to give mind-body-spirit a boost, makes us feel better and more confident about the future… even when the immediate outlook is not good, to say the least.

Oh, and yes, mine is the voice of experience, and how…! wry bardic grin.

A LIFE IN THE DAY OF A SMILE

Weary of battling hard times,
tempted to wave a white flag at them,
let them treat me as they will;
invariably, I find a way to counter-attack,
body-mind-spirit refusing to cave in
to such vagaries of fate as would see me
crushed by the weight of my own
shortcomings; rather, I choose peace of a kind
that foxes all humankind

Circumstances, eager to see me
on my knees, not least various health
issues and matters pecuniary
that would send all mind-body-spirit
into freefall, kith and kin
on tenterhooks, my end in their eyes
clearer and closer each day,
throwing down a gauntlet to all heart-and soul
to resist and rise above it all

Lips set in cheery curve, eyes on cue,
the taste of love and hope on the tongue
sweeter than I have ever known,
I embrace all that’s beautiful in the world,
as good a prop as any
to light up its past-present-future and have it
find peace; though the way ahead
take its toll on me, let any tears provide rainbows
promising kinder tomorrows

No matter what, needs must we go that last mile,
nurture the nature of a smile

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

A Dawning

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

(Photo taken from the Internet)

"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world." - Oscar Wilde

"The light that puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star." -Henry David Thoreau

"One may not reach the dawn save by the path of the night." - Germaine Greer"

Dawn: When men of reason go to bed." - Ambrose Bierce

Now, yet another reader asks “How on earth can anyone be expected to think positive in a world of negatives.” And as I’ve said before, we have but Hobson’s Choice, sink or swim…

As it happens, I can’t physically swim, but learned at an early age how to do so mentally. True, I have been at risk of drowning in my own mistakes from time to time, but much the same life forces that drove me to make them also rescued me. 

The greater mystery of life is indeed… mysterious; a mixed blessing, to say the least. What to make of it is down to each and every one of us, although our circumstances will vary, so we shouldn’t blame ourselves entirely for either wrong choices or missed opportunities; what we need to accept (better late than never) rather than blame ourselves for (or others) is our not always grabbing a metaphorical shovel and digging ourselves out of whatever mess we may find ourselves in.

Some people seem to sail through life, enjoy more than their fair share of fine weather and happy times. Envy, though, never did anyone any good; besides, appearances can be and often are deceptive. More to the point, it’s our life, our mind-body-spirit having to find its way, no ducking our responsibilities for long, however much we may try. 

Warring factions never did peace of mind any favours, and there are often as many of those within us as without.

What happens in the wider world affects us all, one way or another, not least  Putin’s war on Ukraine’s descending into new depths of depravity only yesterday with a missile attack on a crowded shopping mall in the central Ukranian city of Kremenchuk.

Oh, but yes, you are so right. I am not saying anything new, nothing we haven’t heard or thought before, so…why bother saying it? None at all if no one is taking it in, including yours truly. 

Taking it in or not, as the case may be, maybe it’s taking it on that counts, living by feelings for its making of us a better or worse person, wherever on its learning curve we happen to be in the course of any Here-and-Now?  As for any warring factions within and without us, the sooner they agree to differ, the better for everyone…but, like so many facts of life, easier to acknowledge than put into practise. 

Meanwhile, another sunrise making us promises it may or may not keep, depending on…?

A DAWNING

Waking with a heavy heart,
fearful of surviving yet another day
of medication, isolation, 
missing once favourite pleasures,
now barely memories,
bidding mind-body-spirit rise above it all,
recharge heart-and-soul

Can but rise to the challenge,
dodge arrows of despair as we dare
find ways to redirect 
negative thoughts into exit mode,
call on Imagination
to let us ally such with other spirited voices
making wiser, kinder choices

Earth Mother, ever here for us,
to lend a helping hand,
instruct the wind that we may be
privy to and inspired
by chicks in trees learning how to fly
in the face of global fears, learn peace songs,
lend meaning to safer landings

Rise, open curtains at windows
passing for human eyes,
give worldly sights and sounds benefit
of any doubt, take heart
just from living by learning how to fly
in the face of global fears, letting peace songs
lend meaning to safer landings

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

 

"This 'n' That": Pillow Talk

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

"A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow." - Charlotte Brontë

"We are such stuff/ as dreams are made on; / and our little life/ is rounded so with sleep." - William Shakespeare (The Tempest)

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty." - Mahatma Gandhi

Some readers may be interested in the history of today’s poem in so far as it bares little resemblance to my first effort, apart from its main theme/s, which I lost when my pc crashed just as I was in the process of slightly revising it! 

Now...a reader has emailed to say that, like me, he is in his late 70’s, has prostate cancer, taking stock of his life and wondering “…just what the hell it has all been for.” 

Well, only he can answer that one, but I cannot believe it of anyone that they haven’t had good times as well as bad, heavenly moments as well as hellish ones. Me, I try to focus on certain heavenly moments whenever I find myself ‘taking stock’... and trust they may define me more credibly than the latter.

Meanwhile Russia continues its war on Ukraine, despite huge losses among the ranks of both aggressor and defender, while the West does its best to appear supportive of the latter by supplying arms as well as rhetoric without  provoking  Vladimir Putin and his supporters into a potentially WW111 situation.

As the old truism goes, hope springs eternal… wry bardic grin7

"THIS 'N'THAT": PILLOW TALK

“Why, this, that, who and - whatever?
Such are questions we may well often ask
of mind-body-spirit, time and again,
so anxious for answers, feeling let down
for getting none, merely alternatives
to sift through and see if we can discover
some, at least, for comfort’s sake
if not as great a peace of mind as we’d hoped,
enough, though, to quieten our pillows

In the springtime of our years, innocence
shielding us from such the ways of the world
as likely to confuse, even abuse us
as we pass through its seasons, now enjoying
feelings of all but touching the sky
on a playground swing, now free to laugh
at the ups and downs of a see-saw,
only vaguely relating such delight to any doubts
imposed by nature and human nature

Ours seasons pass, various thrills and spills
of maturity likely making indelible impressions
on the very character of any heart-and-soul,
still asking much the same questions
of a mind-body-spirit, left feeling no less let down
for such answers as our personal space alone
needs must sift through a history of mixed feelings,
home in on joys of love and peace
reconciling with, atoning for, even forgiving

No abstract notion of ‘fate’ defines humanity
more than a capacity for divining such home truths
as will (invariably) direct or misdirect us
through its maze, sins and blessings according
to this or that agenda as drawn up
by society or community, politics or religion
for all we are, a veritable hotchpotch
of passions, arguing needs to keep up appearances,
rushing to judgements, making war, not peace

No equality of either circumstances or genes,
finds mind-body-spirit in the driving seat,
hopefully making sure we take more right turns
than wrong, winding up in as good a place
as any, if not quite where we might have wished
to be, but nowhere and no one can be right
all the time, yet less of a crisis for any of us 
able to keep looking on the bright(er) side of life,
easier-said-than-done notwithstanding

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

 

Lines on Nature

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

“We say
This changes and that changes. Thus the constant
Violets, doves, girls, bees and hyacinths
Are inconstant objects of inconstant cause in a universe of inconstancy.” - Wallace Stevens

“Birds do not sing in caves, nor do doves cherish their innocence in dovecot.” - Henry David Thoreau

“Don't kill doves in the garden. You kill one and the others won't come.” - Malala Yousafzai

Now, I am often criticised for being critical of some world religions, especially those whose agendas are opposed to and even encourage certain prejudices LGBT+ folks and anyone else who cannot go along with its narrowminded perspectives on life. 

However, each to their own, and I can respect anyone for that; if they can equate the sense of spirituality their religion offers them with that same narrowmindedness, more’s the pity, but … so be it. There is, after all, much comfort to be had in the constancy of any religion, albeit dependant on our (constant) perception of it.

Now, many hearts around the world will be with the families of at least 19 children and 2 teachers massacred by a teenage gunman at an elementary school in Uvalde Texas just a few days ago. President Biden is not the first US president to demand a change in the country’s gun laws, but the gun lobby there is so strong that I suspect, yet again, little if anything will change. Meanwhile, yet another town is left dealing with unimaginable grief.

In times of overwhelming emotion, especially grief, many people turn to their religion for comfort. I get that, I really do, but have only ever found comfort in nature. 

Earth Mother has no hidden agenda, but is there for us all, from all walks of life, regardless of ethnicity, sexuality and whatever creed they may choose to follow. 

Me, I will stick with nature and continue to think of myself as a pantheist.

LINES ON NATURE

Happiness, among birds, trees
and creatures left to wander freely
such water, earth and seas
as would have them stay free to live
and die, but for certain forces in humanity
indifferent to cruelty

Spirituality, in the natural world
lending peace to any who seek it,
needing respite from ways
of humankind, inclined, to see itself
free to undermine nature’s every fine creation
for its duration

Beginnings, endings, grand finales,
facts or fictions, firing the imagination,
world religions and expectations
the world over, gut feelings made to run
for cover, confused, fearful - and where better 
than to nature…

Nature, its only agenda such peace
and quiet come to lend the human spirit
such perceptions as elude us
in the general rush of everyday forces
will challenge, divide us, tug us this way or that
and all for.…what?

Listen out, too, for a mourning dove,
sending a message from its leafy world,
giving thanks to Earth Mother
for sharing, serving its every heartbeat well.
not only in sunshine and misty rain, but passed on
to every human 

Happiness, among birds, trees
and creatures left to wander freely
such water, earth and seas
as urge that we, too, endeavour to stay true
to whatever past-present-future would hold us all,
heart-and-soul

As nature may give, take, yet restore as and when,
so shall mind-body-spirit come into its own…

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

 

Forewarned, Forearmed

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"Our life is what our thoughts make it." - Marcus Aurelius

"Forewarned, forearmed; to be prepared is half the victory." - Miguel de Cervantes

"Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be achieved through understanding." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Peace we want because there is another war to fight against poverty, disease and ignorance." - Indira Gandhi

Now, human nature is no less subject to storms than the natural world; one-upmanship, even between friends, probably the moat common cause for a storm of fraught emotions breaking over many households. The harsher and stronger our emotions, the worse the storm and the longer (if ever) any sense of calm restored.

Sadly, storms can arrive and break seemingly without warning, not least because human nature is such that we often miss the tell-tale signs that all is not well; before we know it, the unexpected strikes and we are left to find a way through it if we can, not always possible unless we sit down and talk about it, something some world leaders and families are least willing to do... possibly because they haven’t a clue where to start?

Where weather forecasters can help us plan our days, there is no one but ourselves to help us plan our lives; all the more important that we take time to spot the clues, try to understand each other more, learn to avoid the worst storms altogether, talk peace before war has a chance to tread us into the ground…

The greater human tragedy of the war in Ukraine - for both sides - is it may have been avoided had Russia's president Putin seen the need for talks before assuming he had the upper hand anyway, so... why bother?

Such is the Landscape of Power, littered with as many false assumptions as good intentions; small wonder, then, that humanity loses its way from time to time...?

FOREWARNED, FOREARMED

Stormy weather,
scary flashes of lightening
brightening the gloom
with ominous glows now and then,
here, there, everywhere;
landscapes of fear in you-me-us
across the world,
expecting no less, even through tears
for far kinder yesterdays 

Storm, relaxing
its grip on all we creatures
great and small;
Apollo, trying to give any remaining
sense of doom and gloom
a welcome lift, child hands greeting
sunshine come to enlighten
mind-body-spirits in every corner of a world
left struggling to survive

Storm passing,
sky turning a mellow yellow,
clouds a shade lighter,
for a sense of Apollo taking our side
and working hard
to remind us all that not every day
can enjoy fairy tale endings,
up to love, lovers, flowers and evergreens
to keep turning our pages

Any tomorrow,
as likely as not, starting off
in much the same way
as yesterday, but for dawn’s early light
a shade brighter,
mind-body-spirit all the lighter
for a personal space
now primed to look on the brighter side of life,
forewarned, forearmed

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

Where there's Life...

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

“There is something in the human spirit that will survive and prevail, there is a tiny and brilliant light burning in the heart of Man that will not go out, no matter how dark the world becomes.” - Leo Tolstoy

“Survival is not so much about the body, but rather it is about the survival of the human spirit.” – Danitra Vance

Reader, C. P. has emailed to say she is elderly and fears that the invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, as ordered by Vladimir Putin, may lead to a third world war, given Putin’s animosity towards NATO and its okaying supplies of military hardware to assist the beleaguered Ukrainians. She adds that she is in her 80’s and well recalls the devastating effects of WW2 on natural and human landscapes worldwide.

What can I say, but that, hopefully, Putin will have more sense than Hitler and temper any such thoughts and ambitions with due caution? We cannot anticipate any mind-body-spirit, only let our hopes get the better of our fears and get on with our lives, take each day as it comes, focus on staying as cool, keeping as well and being as happy as we can.

Whatever tomorrow has in store for us, we can but wait and see. Meanwhile… all the while, mind-body-spirit continues to engage with heart-and-soul, we may not always feel as complete as we would hope, but at least all the better for remaining as yet unbroken…? 

WHERE THERE'S LIFE...

There is a rising tide across the world
in the cost of living (in more ways than one)
all walks of life, no exceptions...
increasing violence on the streets, 
in the home, hard to explain
various theories as to why it, oh, so often seems
we only dare feel safe in our dreams

A coronavirus pandemic has hit a world
already struggling to contain its fears, rage
and despair as the rich
appear to be getting richer even faster
than the poor getting poorer,
those caught in-between left confused and vexed 
as to what on earth we can expect next

Yet, true to say that where there’s life, hope
may well lie bleeding from wounds made by stabs
of harsh uncertainties
at a mind-body-spirit all but left for dead
by the host heart-and soul
that's overlooking the protective nature of life forces 
primed at birth to do battle with our enemies

Mudflats, home to various living organisms
watched over and duly inspired by Earth Mother
in the art of weathering tides
and other natural elements, reminding us
how all creatures great and small
face daily battles for survival, nor will the stronger win,
but those set to let natural life forces in

Wars, within and without lines drawn in mud,
sand, urban streets, even landscapes where luxury
is byword and keyword…
are fought with know-how strategies
and inborn resolve to expose
the stuff of which we're made for living, such life forces
as the power of love and freedom inspire in us

Win some, lose some, to all intents and purposes,
life and death as likely as not to make its own choices,
heart-and soul finding peace,
even in the thick of battling dark forces
for kith, kin and country, a sense 
of what’s right on its side, inner selves, an all-prevailing 
rallying call, our conscience, motivation and guide

Though freedoms won and lost at the toss of Time’s 
worn coin, we can but trust in Earth Mother and our own
sense of justice, forever to remain,
however tough the going may get, trusting
mind-body-spirit to find ways 
to inspire us, firing heart-and-soul into rising above it all,
cheering us on to (eventually) score a winning goal

Though nature and human nature lose out time and again,
the Landscape of Hope but awaits a healing rain

Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

[Note: I have rewritten both the title and closing couplet to this poem after several emails from regular readers confirmed my own misgivings. Any emails, by the way,  should be addressed to rogertab@aol.com with. 'poetry' in the subject field.] RNT

Come, the last Dance

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

“Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” – Winston Churchill

Where there is unity, there is always victory.” Pubilius Cyrus

“The moment in between what you once were, and who you are now becoming, I where the dance of life really takes place”. - Barbara de Angelis

No preamble to the poem today; hopefully, it will speak to the reader in much the same spirit as the quotes above.

COME, THE LAST DANCE…

I go to where I grew up,
play with other kids in my street
such childhood games
as only children can make fun,
no hidden agendas
or cash changing hands on the quiet,
time yet for all that
once schooldays left to improved versions
among adult fictions

I go back to teenage years,
nursing such hopes for the future,
anticipating the fruits
of success, no prospect of failure
getting a look in,
too busy making plans for adult days
and enjoying the landscape
with close kin and peers in ways that only
confirm immaturity

I go back to post-school
disappointments and start to climb
various ladders of opportunity,
failing to reach the sky, hitching rides
on clouds into lands
of in-between, mind-body-spirit falling
from this heaven to that hell,
Earth Mother, no less empathic or beautiful,
nor inspirational

Yet, hillock, a mountain…
each promising stream, another river 
to cross in the absence
of any bridges available to eyes blinded
by inexperience, ears deafened
to wiser words by an ego screaming abuse
for its failing to stay any course,
weighty sensations of regret, shame, self-pity,
crumbling me

Came into No-man’s land,
Earth Mother’s crying out for succour,
silencing ego, letting
heart-and-soul speak, lay bare home truths,
finally acknowledging and taking
responsibility for being here, error of my ways
staring me in the face, telling me
to get a life, start regenerating my personal space
into a kinder place

So, a new journey begins,
mind-body-spirit urging my every move
to put the past behind,
look to a future, both eyes open, ears too,
watching out for road blocks,
attending forces meaning me well at every turn,
trusting heart-and-soul,
not least by having it keep me safe, guide me true,
and enjoy the view

Time passes, self-awareness
actively engaging with mind-body-spirit
to learn share, move on,
through all its tomorrows, with heart-and-soul
on board, less afraid of a future,
nor needing to hang on to some reinvented past,
let fake smiles hide real tears,
for rogue forces having us  run against each other,
not so, Earth Mother

There can be no going back
to the way things were but in such dreams
as are often only escapism
from such ways as may well need we address,
improve on, in the spirit
of a common humanity and its capacity for love,
fewer factions of one-upmanship
homing in on cultural differences as enemy forces
potential for wars

Whatever, life but asks that we give peace a chance
to partner our last dance...

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

Refugee

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

“I am prepared for the worst, but hope for the best.” – Benjamin Disraeli

“Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.” Maya Angelou

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” - Lao Tzu

“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.”. – Andy Warhol

As the war in Ukraine rages on, tens of thousands of refugees face an uncertain future. Now, moving on is one thing; being forced to move on, uprooted from the very soil that has shaped your life so far... that’s something else altogether. We wish them every success in rebuilding their lives.

A friend once commented to the effect that that we are all refugees from our own mistakes and/ or misfortunes, trying to give our heart-and-soul the chance to build a better home in a  wiser self. Well, I guess we can but try...

REFUGEE

Need to move on,
but can’t stop keep looking back
at the way things were
when we were happy, just you and me
doing things, sharing dreams
looking for rainbows even as our heavens
falling apart at the seams

Need to move on,
taking inspiration from the way
we were then, can be again,
if we but put our shoulders to the wheel
of change, turn it anti-clockwise,
expose this Here-and-Now for just what it is,
a punchy, fistful of lies...

"Need to move on,"
they keep telling me, much loved
voices in the head, presuming
to speak for the dead, in whom our love
trusted to keep us safe, see us right,
though our thought processes left all weepy
and scared, day and night

Need to move on
from raging against the cruel winds
of war and want; let my fears
remind me there is still hope for us, winds
of peace on pause yet again,
rise above them, get a new, kinder, life for us
no ifs and buts, as and when

Need to move on,
made to run a gauntlet of life and death
challenges to which we are born,
trusting in the power of love-and-peace
to see us over the finishing line.
favourite to win, inner voices first to applaud
in front boxes reserved for reunion

Whenever the need to reshape mind-body-spirit,
the heart-and-soul up to it, never defeated

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

Resilience

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“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

War and Peace

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

"Forgive and forget, but never forget to forgive. You may find a happier heart is the key to a happier life." – Mahatma Gandhi

"Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die." – Buddha

"Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes to sorrow it." – Cormac McCarthy

Many if not most of us fall out with friends and family from time to time, even lose patience with the powers that be for the way they have a major say in how our country is run; hence, people protesting in Russia at the moment over its aggression against Ukraine, even though they know they face a long prison sentence.

Given time, fallen bridges may yet be rebuilt, but needs must we remember that time can never be relied upon to so oblige us.

WAR AND PEACE

I am part of a healing process
to an open wound that seem to take
ages to close if, indeed
it ever will for festering at every move
I make towards understanding
how come it still hurts me so, even though
its damage done long since,
yet mind-body-spirit unable to go free, subdue
if not kill the rage in me

How to forgive anyone unable
to comprehend such damage done as
forgiveness seeks
reparation, if only they accept their share
of blame, where blame
on both sides invariably lies, needs
talking through, less concerned
with seeing home truths score hits than learning
the lessons they teach

At home, abroad, war or peace,
though agreeing to differ at the end of talks,
only fools resist
giving peace a chance to fly its colours,
high, and proudly so
for all to see, endorsing what may well
be perceived as compromise,
but one such as heart-and-soul would lend us time
to make us whole again

Country-family-friends, engaging in war or peace,
such is human variant of Choice

 Copyright R. N. Taber 2022

 

Where the Heart Is...

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

"Battles are lost in the same spirit in which they are won.” Walt Whitman

"In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, only losers." – Neville Chamberlain

"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." – Martin Luther King Jr.

As an embattled Ukraine fights on and tens of thousands seek safe haven in neighbouring countries, so the rest of the world pat themselves on the back for supporting Ukraine in every way but meaningful enough to make Putin’s troops withdraw. Supplying arms, sanctuary and applying sanctions are welcome moves, but it is not difficult to imagine the agony of those in Ukraine fighting for their own and their country’s very survival.

Inspirational resistance by Ukraine notwithstanding, it is looking increasingly inevitable that Russian forces will eventually take control. One cannot help but wonder what or who will be next in Putin’s sights? He would not, after all, be the first person - world leader or otherwise - to let one success go to his head...

Meanwhile, as a friend recently commented, we should never underestimate either ourselves or human nature  in general, there being no such thing the 'ordinary' man and woman in the street. We are all of us, each in his and her own way, capable of the most extraordinary acts, not least by taking on various  life forces threatening us; winners all, whether or not we are perceived as losers.

WHERE THE HEART IS...

North, South, East West,
I am that place where I feel safest,
for being able to talk
laugh, engage with loved ones,
friends and good neighbours,
shut out dire thoughts
of being anywhere else but here,
where I can dream in peace of sunnier tomorrows
sure to greet you-me-us

Few dreamers dare to go
where roads ahead grow dark and long,
love needing an outlet,
for such prejudices and hate that invade
my life and personal space
without my consent, yet unable to prevent
their presence in me,
supposedly a passing distraction, even as homing in
on potential self-destruction

Yet, beneath appearances
inviting such comments as ‘but ordinary’
dwell an extraordinary
treasure of life forces, such as bravery
in the face of hard times,
love and compassion able to take a lead,
despite all but surrounded
by conditions even angels may well be wary of treading
for dread of human suffering

Call me’ Home’ wherever I be,
mind-body-spirit in like company, no ordinary
force for living,
but giving as well as taking, fighting its enemies,
defending its rights,
yet unity and friendship always in its sights
no matter such ways of a world
where division is almost second nature where Finance rules,
mistaking ‘ordinary’ folks for fools

They are the fools, though, devils
invading human anxiety, divining their flaws
for strengths by such vanity
as sometimes possesses powers that be, crossing
red lines, the length and breadth
of all walks of humanity,
making out it is in potentially in their interests
while pursuing their own, ever preening themselves in mirrors,
feeding media sources but half-truths

I, though, have its measure, the human heart with such love in it
that alien forces can neither win over nor defeat

Copyright R. N. Taber, 2022

Looking to the Future

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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

Peace and Goodwill, True or Bluff?

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

I used to love playing 'True or Bluff' with friends, although I could never quite shake off  a sense of its being a game I have engaged in all my life that is no game at all but part and parcel of mind-body-spirit's tenuous grasp of what, indeed, is true or bluff... no less often with myself than with others in all walks of life, at various levels of consciousness and conscience.

On the subject of Christmas, a clergyman once told my Sunday School class that “Religious festivals are all about bringing peoples of the world together in the sight of God.”  to which a voice piped up, loud and clear, “He must be get very disappointed by what he sees then...”

Everyone laughed... whether at the child’s precocity or the look of sheer perplexity on the face of the clergymen, who was clearly at a loss for words, I wonder even now. 70 years on. He quickly recovered his composure and proceeded to tell the Christmas Story. I would have been about ten years-old at the time, and found myself wishing even then that he has responded to my young peer’s comment. It was a watershed moment for me as I began to address my inner self increasingly more closely as to just what it was about religion – not just Sunday School – with which I was less than comfortable.

A few years later I would confide in my Religious Education teacher at Secondary school that I found difficulty in relating a growing sense of spirituality in nature rather than religion. He explained that, as God created nature, it was all part of the same scenario, although he also said that human beings have complex needs and no religion has a monopoly on spirituality. I had a problem, even then, with a personified God and those words would eventually lead me to Pantheism.

As I have said before on the blog, I have every respect for a person’s Belief or non-Belief, but, each to our own, and Pantheism works for me in so far as it sees God as nature rather than its creator..

PEACE AND GOODWILL... TRUE OR BLUFF?

Christmas is that time of year
when we are all meant to put on a show
of good cheer, often a bluff,
but convincing enough to keep family
and friends from suspecting
we are more fragile than we seem,
at breaking point even,
but the Christmas show needs must go on,
if only for the children

On that first Christmas, long ago
the Christ child was born, and must be so
because the Bible tells us so;
myth, fairy tale, what’s the truth of it?
Ask the preacher or trust
in gut feelings and mind-body-spirit
feeding us a sense of peace
as we’d dearly l have comfort, console us
for all we see in tea leaves

Singing carls around the tree,
thankful to be in much loved company,
lending us a sense
of a common humanity sure to find
its way one day, coming
together to fight a common enemy,
no matter our religion
or differences in whatever kinder life forces,
we make our life choices

Christmas, over, a new year
around the next corner, time to reflect
on knowns and unknowns
likely to lead or mislead us, such
is the way of all flesh,
sun, moon and stars taking turns
to let us enter into
a spirituality akin to that we enjoy, embrace
one and all, at Christmas

Yet another Covid Christmas,
a human tragedy that it takes a pandemic
to create a sense of unity,
world against a common enemy;
yet, old habits die hard,
never easy to admit we were wrong
to judge or assume,
better, surely, to give and take the gift of Peace
at all-embracing festivities?

“United we stand, divided we fall,” Earth Mother
might well have us remind each other...

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

Tracks

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

OVERHEARD: “They’re always right so everyone else has to be wrong. How vain or self-centred can a person be, for heaven’s sake?” 

Possibly the person in question is neither vain or self-centred in the sense their accuser implies. Sometimes people need to address their inner selves so often, in order to avoid a personal abyss, that they develop tunnel vision; not in every respect, though, only as and when they need to make some cliff-hanger of a personal decision. 

Whatever, everyone’s cliff-hangers are different; what may help one person may not help another. 

Since the person under discussion here was clearly asked for advice, or at least an opinion, with which the speaker plainly disagreed... don’t they deserve some credit for at least trying to answer, in the light of what they may well have discovered for themselves, rather than sitting on the proverbial fence? 

Now, the speaker may well be right, but doesn’t the accused deserve the benefit of doubt rather than be given a stereotypical label that may well do the rounds and prove to be unfounded in different circumstances...? 

Why did I earwig and subsequently write the poem? Well, possibly because one of my favourite recordings from the 1960’s is Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood by The Animals. Sadly, it happens to some of us all the time... 

TRACKS 

Everywhere I look,
I’ll invariably fail to see what lies
beyond certain perimeters,
narrow, though, they well may be
for reasons best accounted for
by formative years left least aware
of a mind-body-spirit
failing to master such arts of interaction
as effect true communication 

Unable to break free
of such hauntings and compelled
to follow, though they lead
into such dark, complex landscapes
of emotion and imagination
as more likely to effect tunnel vision
than lend me a key
to better understanding the finer mysteries
of human history over centuries 

From time to time,
personal space allows me glimpses
of a kinder past-present-future
than the human engine in me running
on lines meant to leave me
missing out on such key destinations
as Love and Peace,
only for me to miss my destination yet again
on such tracks as are but human 

Call me Self-centredness, that human faculty
often mistaken for vanity 

Copyright R. N. Taber 2021

 

Hi, Everyone

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

Hi, Everyone,

Sorry, no poem today, although I am working on one. Unfortunately, a worsening ear infection means that I am not feeling up to doing much at all at the moment, but hopefully it will soon pass.

Several readers have asked how I cope with the prostate cancer. Well, I just try to take each day as it comes and keep my fingers crossed.

I am 75 years-old, have been treated with hormone therapy (zoladex) since I was first diagnosed in 2011 and have injections about every 18 months. Although successful in preventing the cancer from becoming aggressive, the zoladex affects my memory; in the early years, I feared I was a candidate for dementia, but my consultant assured me it was the hormone therapy. I also get scared, even panicky sometimes, and this is not the kind of person I am. However, I’ve learned to live with these side-effects and do my best not to let them send me into free fall.

Diet has helped. I stay clear of dairy and meat products now. Soya milk and other soya related foods seem to help energise my system; it may not work for everyone, but it works for me; if the proof of any the pudding is in the eating, well, here I am, 10 years on, not quite the man I used to be, but still alive to tell the tale.

A reader has emailed to say he lives alone (as I do) and has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer.  It is scary, I know, but a positive thinking mindset helps… a LOT. Family and friends are likely to rally round and offer support, so let them and take strength from it; some people bury their heads in the sand and that helps no one.

Scary, too, is the coronavirus pandemic… for everyone. It is ok to be scared, we can but do out best to rise above our fears and not let them get the better of us. Easier said than done, I know, but it’s not as if we have much choice. Some of you will have lost loved-ones, friends and workmates to the coronavirus, and that is always a tragedy, but as I have said many times before, love never dies, buts remains a life-force within us... if we let it.

Take care, everyone, stay safe and keep as well as any of us can expect to be during a pandemic.

Back soon, I hope. Meanwhile, feel free to explore the poetry archives, accessible on the right hand side of any blog page, Oh, and for the reader who had some kind words for my fiction blog... many thanks, much appreciated.

Hugs,

Roger