http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber
I
have often commented on the blogs how love takes on all shapes and appearances;
love of family, friends, places, whatever aspects of nature and human nature that
can be relied on to bring out the best in us, distance us from anything less.
A
reader writes that “Such positive thinking is all very well, but “… it’s only a
theory, so typical of a poet. How, in practice, can it see we ordinary human
beings through the likes of a pandemic or such intense personal crises as any
of us are likely to experience at any time in our lives?”
Well,
the short answer is that there isn’t one, only as many to choose from as there
are aspects of human nature.
Regular
readers will know that, some 40+ years ago, I attempted suicide, so great was
the crisis I needed to confront that I felt I couldn’t even make a start, and
what was the point?
The
point was, of course, that we all need to confront our fears; running away (as
regular readers will know I have often done) solves nothing. Somehow, that same
‘theory, so typical of a poet’ found a way through my unconscious self, and I
awoke long enough to seek medical help.
The
next four years were a waking nightmare, but such support as I hadn’t expected
from certain work colleagues, friends and various professionals saw me through
it all. Finally, I found myself taking up the threads of everyday life again, starting
a new job, and waking up each morning without mind-body-spirit feeling all but
overwhelmed.
I
had a garden in those days. Birdsong, through such summers as were almost as
bad any winter, helped me in ways I had no way of understanding until, some
years later, I began writing poetry again, something that had seen me through
such childhood crises as haunt me still, not least for my never having
understood those either.
While
I suspect few if any of us ever (quite) understand ourselves, I like to think I
have at least learned (better late than never) that we human beings can do a
lot worse in life than take our cue from all the natural world has to offer,
not least by way of making the best of and surviving even the worst of its wintry
elements.
Many thanks for dropping by the blog, folks, always much appreciated,
Hugs,
Roger
WINTERWORLD
or IN ANTICIPATION OF SPRING
I
spied a starling
flying
low, seemingly heading
for
a tearful tree,,
the
name of which species
escaping
me,
the
archives of my memory
all
but running
on
empty, so intense the toll on me
of
everyday anxiety
Barely
skimming
the
tree’s uppermost branches,
starling
appeared
to
have a last-minute change
of
mind, taking off
in
another direction altogether,
as
if sensing
little
(if any) welcome to be had there,
no rising above despair
I
spied a redbreast,
wings
a-flutter in the bitter wind
like
a flag of hope
among
snow clouds spreading
mixed
emotions
among
various generations below
for
anticipating
multifarious
joys as snowfalls may bring,
or
yet more suffering
Alighting
on a branch
of
so woebegone a tree as appears
struggling
so
to
stay alive in the total absence
of
any pointers
to
spring, robin raises a weary head
and
starts to sing,
its
sweet voice drying Earth Mother’s tears
as
it has for centuries
Imagination
or celebration,
tree
taking its cue for a new lease
of
life, as well might
its
listeners all, we creatures great
and
small,
for
cock robin’s messaging wintry worlds
that
the nature
of
love demands no words or romantic setting
for the joy of its giving
Copyright
R. N. Taber 2021
Labels: coronavirus, Covid-19, global consciousness, hope, human nature, human spirit, life forces, love, natural world, pandemic, personal space, poetry, positive thinking, society, stoicism, survival
