Poem – Long Nights and Short Days

cc01c6b7-a6fb-44c2-90ac-256d0b2874e8 (2)This is a difficult season watching the days get shorter. You need to find things to do to fill the dark hours.

Long Nights and Short Days

The days are short and the nights are long,
Living is not easy because there is too much striving,
Too much urgency to do something that does not need to be done,
Too much urgency to be someone I do not have to be.
The flowers are all tucked away beneath the ground;
The mulch has been laid to give them a cozy bed;
But the hope of a bright spring makes the toil worthwhile.
And I sit here in the dark before my screen
Searching for some important thing to say,
But knowing deep inside that everything has been said.
The years are piling up.
One more season before three score and ten,
And the seasons are all blending together,
And the winter tales are no longer worth repeating.
So meaning has to lie somewhere else.
Somewhere within.
Somewhere where the sun never shines,
Some place where there is no darkness,
Some place where the ticking of the clock stops,
Some place where there is no need for sleep,
No need for rest and recuperate,
Nothing to complain about,
Nothing to brag about,
Just an endless parade of moments within moments,
Where all is as it should be,
And just BEING is all that there needs to be.

Anal Intercourse and the Law

SHIRT & TIE [small] (final)Did you know that anal intercourse for gay and bisexual men is still part of the criminal code in Canada? The law is never enforced but it is still on the books.  It makes anal sex illegal for consenting adults with the exception of consenting heterosexuals over 16 who engage in the privacy of their own homes, which by the process of illumination, leaves it illegal for gay and bisexual men. This “crime” carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

The question of anal sex between men has been a problem for society for centuries. Sodomy has been criticized by the intellectual community, declared an abomination deserving of eternal punishment by religious groups, and criminalized by various societies. The question is “why”.

Based on the nature of the above law, and my own personal observations, I must conclude that it is because it is a sexual expression involving men.  Men engaging in sex with men is something that society feels is a perversion of sexuality.  Men are supposed to be macho and driven to become alpha males where the biggest and best compete to spread their genes into the gene pool. To avoid competition for women and intercourse is a sign of weakness and a betrayal to the collective advancement of mankind. Gay and Bisexual men are therefore labelled as pansies, ferries and fags.

The second reason involves the esthetic view of eroticism. Sex between women is viewed in general as sensuous and erotic, while sex between men is vied as in bad taste (pun intended). Take for example the sex scenes in the movies Brokeback Mountain and Carol. To most people the passionate energy and urgency in Brokeback Mountain left most people squirming in their seats whereas the one in Carol was viewed as erotic and sweet. Another popular example is the voyeurism expressed in pornography and sexually free parties. A man and a woman engaging in oral of vaginal sex is considered amusing and entertaining. Sex between two women will gather a group of interested watchers. However sex between men simply would not happen in mixed groups and would only be consider as entertaining by gay and bisexual men.

The third reason, I believe, is that the act itself is viewed as disgusting.  Somehow it is acceptable between a man and a woman but should be carried out in privacy; however,  when men engage in anal sex it suddenly becomes dirty and revolting. Another example is the variation in oral sex. A close female friend recently asked me if men do indeed perform anal oral stimulation. Now she is a very open minded individual, but when I answered in the affirmative she was obviously disgusted by it. Perhaps people feel that both anal oral stimulation (also known as rimming) and penetration are dirty because of the possibility of feces as opposed to the remnants of urine in vaginal oral sex. However, obviously, gay and bisexual men are very much aware of this and take precautions with washing and lotions to make sure they are clean, and probably cleaner than most experiences of vaginal oral engagement. This oral stimulation for men is also very erotic and pleasurable and can become an integral part of foreplay for bi’s and gay men.

In conclusion, I believe all forms of sex are private matters between individuals. What people choose to do in the privacy of their own homes is strictly up to them. Laws against sexual privacy are absurd and archaic. If others want to fantasize and be disgusted by their own imagination that is their problem. Get over it.  This law should be taken off the records. It is disgusting and an abomination against fair play and justice.

Sex, Pleasure, and Beauty

SHIRT & TIE [small] (final)As I am getting older, I am learning to savor the pleasures of this life with all the passion that my mind and body can muster. I have become conscious of beauty.  I seek it throughout each and every day.  As I explore the pleasures of my senses I am much more selective in how the next moment should be spent.

Sexuality has become much more than experiencing orgasm. My sexual passions meld with the other senses. Making love is no longer a ritual or a tension and anxiety release; I make love because I love life, I love the moment, and I love the person that I am with. The feelings of togetherness dominate my moments and I can focus my arousal on exploring the beauty of his/her body and soul. Sometimes this sense of attraction and oneness leads to sexual passion, but most of the time, I just want to settle into the glow.

As I continue to read Elizabeth Gilbert’s book, Eat, Pray, Love[1], slowly and thoughtfully, I am impressed with the beauty of her words. I would like to explore some of her thoughts on the topic of pleasure and beauty and apply them to bisexuality.

“In a world of disorder and disaster and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted . . . .  Pleasure cannot be bargained down. And sometimes the meal (sex) is the only currency that is real.” (page 114)

This one is about forgetting about the negative aspect of gaining weight and just settling in to consciously enjoying a gourmet Italian meal in a quaint restaurant on the streets of Rome. The same thing can be said about sex. We have to learn to forget the consequences, ignore the negative feelings, and just enjoy the sensuality of touch and taste. For much of my life, perhaps due to my religious background, the beauty of sex has been watered down and devalued, at times to the point of shame and guilt. All of those thoughts imposed by well-meaning individuals have interfered with my sense of pleasure. I have come to realize that those thoughts are not to be trusted.  I will no longer bargain my right to enjoy one of the greatest pleasures of life. The only thing that is real is the pleasure and the knowledge that I can gain through my senses.

“To devote yourself to the creation and enjoyment of beauty, then, can be a serious business – not always a means of escaping reality, but sometimes a means of holding on to the real when everything else is flaking away into rhetoric and plot . . . . You were given life; it is your duty (an also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight” (page 115).

I am leaning to see beauty in everything, especially in the act and art of making love. Seeing the beauty of my own body, mind, and soul has been like coming out of Plato’s cave and seeing life the way it really is. I am beautiful.  My feelings and sensations are beautiful.  I can reach emotional orgasm smelling a flower or seeing a doe curled up in my flower bed, but best of all by experiencing the love that comes from the exchange of touch. Holding my partner consciously and sensuously is the greatest pleasure I know.  She/he is beautiful. I am beautiful. We are beautiful.

”And I will leave with the hope that the expansion of one person – the magnification of one’s life – is indeed an act of worth in this world. Even if that life, just this one time, happens to be nobody’s but my own” (page 116).

My sole purpose is to see myself as I really am and to expand into the most beautiful person that I can be. I have learned to live selfishly.  My own personal pleasure and my own pursuit of beauty is the purpose of my life, but it is a purpose I can share with another human being. By exploring another’s beauty sensuously, sexually, and consciously and reflecting it back  to them,  I provide the divine energy that enables that person to expand and grow individually. And when we perform this act of love together, living and growing itself becomes something beautiful and the source of ultimate pleasure.This is a pleasure that I have chosen to experience with one person because of the intensity of the feelings we can share.  I have become monogamous not because of any restrictions on my mind but because of the expansion of my soul.

[1] Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat Pray Love. Penguin Books. London, England. 2006.