Poetry Corner: Black Sheep

POETRY CORNER

– 9/26/18

Hosted by Kathabela Wilson

Some of us might think of ourselves or another as a “black sheep”. What this means varies. Each of the poets here show us a different, provocative experience with this term. As we look closely, we perceive the potential, allure, difficulties, and ease that might be held in this ‘category’ or ‘label’. It can be used positively, negatavely, implying difficulty, mystery, exile or freedom defying the norm. As you read these fine poems closely, make sure to read also the short prose comments of the poets, as they’re revealing and thought provoking.

~ Kathabela

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Kids eat free by Stevie Strang.

Billy Howell-Sinnard

the underdog
and the black sheep…
my heritage
is a meagre trust
with limitless possibilities

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White feather (Photo – Natalia Kuznetsov).

Lou Hotchkiss-Knives

around the hilltops
clouds huddle like sleepy sheep
damp with Autumn rain
the cotton of your black fleece
brushing my cheek as we walk

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Black Swan (Photo – Natalia Kuznetsova).

Natalia Kuznetsova

black grace
defamed and demonized –
Swan Lake

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Black Sheep by Stevie Strang

Stevie Strang

blackballed into silence
the hollow weight
of an autumn sky

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misunderstood
the rumors continue to grow
cactus blossoms

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one false lie
and all good deeds forgotten
snap dragon

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seated alone
at her funeral
the sting of whispers
on my back

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Icelandic sheep (Photo – Mike Duffy).

Sharon Hawley

bah bah black sheep
have we any gall
yes sir, yes sir
we’ll defy them all

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Sheep in a well-grazed chou moeilier (Brassica oleracea, Tree Kale, Giant Tree Kale) field (Photo – Robert Johnston).

Radhamani Sarma

tardy yet pleasing
handicapped and slow learner
but independent
sketch in colors her forte
she is never a black sheep

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Black Sheep: Quotes and Credits

Sheep (Photo – Pascale Petit).

Billy Howell-Sinnard, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, says: “My father always said he was the black sheep of the family. He spent a little time in prison, but he was kind of a Robin Hood. He was always helping some down and out person, getting them off the street, giving them a job, finding them a room.”

Lou Hotchkiss-Knives lives in Torquay, Devonshire, England. She says: “Black sheep come under many guises, clouds, rain-soaked cattle and anarchist lovers…”

Natalia Kuznetsova, who lives in Moscow, says: “For me, like for many Russians and ballet lovers across the globe, the Black Swan is a symbol of evil and the guise of beauty. The story of Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet ‘The Swan Lake’ indeed demonizes the beautiful bird and contrasts it with the innocence of the white ‘twin’/ in fact both species in real life are far from being nice.but both have become personification of grace and beauty and loyalty…we mortals do need ideals, don’t we! There is the burden of inbred stereotypes and ‘labels’ Just like with the ‘black sheep’ which is mostly associated with someone out of the ordinary and very often an outcast. How often in life these stereotypes get smashed.”

Stevie Strang, of Laguna Niguel, California says: “How wonderful would it be to live in a world where people listened without conviction, spoke without indifference, viewed others’ pain with compassion, helped without entitlement, and loved without condition? In 1971, one song said it all.

and the sign said
long haired freaky people
need not apply
© “Signs” by Five Man Electric Band”

Sharon Hawley, of Pasadena, California, shares this email she wrote to her sister’s daughter who lives in Fairbanks, Alaska: “Sounds like you’re relatively happy about my drive to visit you in Fairbanks come January. You have not said it’s too dangerous, or that your trucker friend finds it inadvisable. Your summary of my plan seems to be ‘lol,’ and I can laugh along with that. We’ve always been the crazy pair, you of your generation, me of mine. Bye-bye black sheep. Bah-a-a-a, Sharon.”

Radhamani Sarma lives in Chennai, India. She tells this story: “My poem comes from a sad memory I have of a friend I visited some years ago. She introduced her ten year old daughter, allocated a space in a corner, her one leg affected in an accident; such a cute young person. She paints in colors from morn till evening , amazing collections of her pictures! Mother majestically acknowledges her paintings were kept in a local exhibition.”

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♣ We welcome and encourage your response, especially in the form of a short poem, by leaving a comment below.