Black and White

/ rothpoetry

Hatteras Lighthouse verticle 001 (4)

What would the Hatteras Lighthouse
look like without both black and white?
One compliments the other
giving definition and accent.
Black and white, when combined side by side,
create a strikingly beautiful combination.
In today’s society, we seem to be moving
more toward the gray…
where nothing is ever black or white.
What are we losing in the mix?

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Anmol (Alias Ha) asked us to consider shades of black and write a poem using one aspect of the word. In painting I realize how important black is in creating contrasts. Dark against light makes them pop. In society we seem to be trying to blend everything and everyone together.  We seem to be losing the definitions we once considered important. My poem asks the question. What is your answer?

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30 thoughts on “Black and White”

  2. Beautiful and elegant Lighthouse. I love lighthouses dearly but am more used to see then in either blue / white or white / Red.
    Never grey, that wouldn’t do at all.
    So your poem clearly point to importance of keeping colours alive in our daily
    life.

    miriam

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  6. My mom always predictedvthat the world would become a “melting pot” wherevwe all blended together. She didn’t sat it with joy and anticipation. She voiced dread and concern. Hers was a reference to black /white marriage – back in the ’50s when society put a bigger taboo on such unconditional love. Yours is a reference to ideas… The absence of absolute Truths.. the blending right and wrong until all is in that gray area, right? What’s lost? A sense of morality? An absence of clear conscience? Watered down 10 Commandments? A faded definition of decency? What else? Yes, i love the lighthouse, but i worry about the extremists. The bombing/shooting of innocent people because of their race or religion. The extreme intolerance. Why can’t we just love one another?

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  7. I think everyone has said something of value here. I too agree black and white are both important. Without them, we are limited to a world of fog. White is the absence of all color. I would hope my complexion has a bit of color, otherwise I look like a ghost. Black, on the otherhand is the presence of all color – in other words, combine all colors and you have created black. However, equating black and white with extremists is a social injustice. I am white, I have more right leanings than left, but socialism is just as wrong as extreme right. To say that ‘no American should be a Billionaire, is Communism – pure and simple. We can accept each other, if we will, but some may never be able to ‘love each other – even though that is what Christ taught.’

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  9. Love this. What are we losing? Absolutes! Peter Tork of the Monkees in the 70’s wrote a song, “Shades of gray” . Black and white are so interesting and there are different thoughts about whether one is a color or not. It all has to do with light and reflection.

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  16. Oh yes…..the song about ebony and ivory that Bjorn posts. A great response to your post! I’ll take it for my response as well 🙂
    Although I do think….sometimes looking at problems and seeking solutions, things are never just black or white meaning at either extreme. In somethings, the shades of grey in between can be the richer choices.

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