The BlueIris Semi-Nightly Poetry Break, 4/2/09

[BlueIris]

"Scapegoat"

The alpha wolf chooses his mate
For life & the other she-wolves
Stare at the ground. Yellowish
Light drains from notorious eyes

Of the males, stealing their first
& last sex. The pact's outcast
The albino we human's love,
Whimpers, wags his tail,

& crawls forward on his belly.
He never sleeps at night.
After pacing down thorny grass
Where the alpha male urinated,

A shadow limps off among the trees.
Already sentenced into wilderness,
As if born wounded, he must stand
Between man & what shines.

~Yusef Komunyakaa

[Tuesday Afternoon]

1. ~

:donut:

[BlueIris]

2. Hi, Tuesday. nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Hello...

interesting poem. Thanks for posting it.

[ThomCat]

4. It's interesting how much art is attracted

to brutality. :(

In this case, it's brutality in nature. It's important to know about this brutality and to understand it, of course. White-washing nature into something disneyfied would be far worse that facing the brutality honestly. But why are we so fascinated with brutality that we dwell on it over and over again in so many different forms and in so much of our art?

Why is the brutality the heart of what makes this poem powerful and beautiful?

:hug:

[BlueIris]

5. ThomCat. You are so quotable.

I'm surprised you aren't here to rap my knuckles over my little April Fool's stunt, though.

[ThomCat]

6. Everyone's entitled to an april fool's stunt

and yours was pretty obvious. :P

[BlueIris]

7. That's what I say!

Personally, I can't believe anyone fell for it. And those that did, well, they should hear about the pranks I decided not to do ("BlueIris joins a cult" and "BlueIris is getting married to a complete stranger and having his baby for money"). I think "ex-feminist" is tame by comparison.

[BlueIris]

8. Kick.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. My dear BlueIris!

I love it! And I love the wolves, and their society...

Thank you...

:D