Black and White

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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The World in Black or White

I want life to be black or white
Everything easy and I am right
But it really doesn’t work that way
Life is full of contradictions they say

Why can’t life be black or white
Perhaps I wouldn’t be so uptight
But grays are part of every life
I’ve known pain that cuts like a knife

The world wants things in black or white
Good or bad we have to fight
To protect our perfect way of life
Seems it causes bitter strife

To always think in black or white
Fills me with fear and causes me fright
Extremes affect the way we think
And leaves our nations on the brink

Why can’t we realizes we need the grays
Shadows bring accents in many ways
Creativity and paradigm shifts
Would not be possible without the mix

Must we think only in black or white
Judging our brothers when “they don’t do right”
Or can we simply love their flaws
The grays and shades are part of us all

Black or white makes everyone halt
Shutter and cringe at every fault
Blends are the creations we all need
To love our brothers, and not to bleed
But I guess as long as there are two
Black or white will judge them too

Love the differences don’t get up tight
Live in peace and let’s not fight
Recognize that if we want to survive
Black and white will not keep us alive
Thinking we are always right
Life will surely be a fright

*********

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Unique

Some don’t fit the norm

Expectations run deep;

Thinking all should look exactly the same

Full of petals // one upon another

But what of the ones who don’t fit that form

With petals fragile and few // spread open wide

Some mutations occur without warning

Does it make them of less value or less beauty?

No // beauty doesn’t come in just one size and shape

Uniqueness brings a beauty all its own

 

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

Rationalizing Vice

Today we explore the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues (Vice and Virtue). Amaya challenged us to look inside ourselves and evaluate one of each. As I looked down the list of seven there was more than one I could have chosen. I decided to hit home and challenge myself with this one. These signs have appeared in welcoming yards across the country, since President Trump put limits on immigration.  Where do you stand,,, on the side of vice (Greed) or on the side of virtue (Charity)?

I must confess when I read the sign something inside me resisted

The Pharisee in me reared its ugly head // made me back away

Possessive greed required my allegiance // rejecting some who are different

Surprisingly, open arms and welcoming seemed foreign to my spirit

Questions arose: are they legal, are they dangerous, or perhaps the wrong color?

The story of our nation reveals

How quickly we took from welcoming native neighbors

Burning villages // killing them off // Relocating them to far away places

Out of sight // out of mind // the problem was now solved

We live here in luxury with guards, walls, and gates

Disinviting all who are different from us // closing eyes to the problem

Is this what it means to “Make America Great Again…”

Hedging ourselves in // using them to do our bidding

Or can we move from our vice to virtue with charity in our hearts

Saying,” No matter who you are // where you are from,,,

we are glad you’re our neighbor”

*************************************************

Sign Photo: Dwight L. Roth

I Married a Cat… She Married a Dog

The old adage, “opposites attract” often holds true when it comes to husbands and wives. I have also heard that the things that attract us are what we argue and fuss about as time goes on. You have heard about “fighting like cats and dogs!”  I have come to the conclusion that Cats marry Dogs and vice versa. This became the inspiration for this poem. See what you think.

I Married a Cat… She Married a Dog

I married a cat

Sleek and beautiful

Strong and independent

Yet likes to come and be close

When she is ready and feeling loved

Claims the house as her space

Demands attention when things get neglected

Purring when things go right

Scratching when things go wrong

Loving and caring and always there

I married a cat!

She married a dog

A co-dependent creature

Full of noise and excitement

Always barking about something

Demanding attention

Not to be denied

Protective and possessive

Tail wagging and drooling for love

Always wanting more

Assuming and thoughtless

Taking everything for granted

Leaving sheadings everywhere he goes

Always there when things get tough

Full of love and compassion

A wife’s best friend

She married a dog!

****************************

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

 

Black or White

When someone thinks they have all the answers, it makes me take a step backwards. Many atrocities have been done in the name of being right. The more rigid we become in our thinking, the more we want things to be either black or white.  It seems politics is often driven by fear. As we listen to our political candidates, we get the impression that they have everything figured out, and all of their solutions are in black and white. No matter how right we feel we are, I believe we must be open to interact and exchange ideas with others. This poem talks about the importance of grays in our life.

Black or White

I want life to be black or white

Everything easy and I am right

But it really doesn’t work that way

Life is full of contradictions they say

 

Why can’t life be black or white

Perhaps I wouldn’t be so uptight

But grays are part of every life

I’ve known pain that cuts like a knife

 

The world wants things in black or white

Good or bad we have to fight

To protect our perfect way of life

Seems it causes bitter strife

 

To always think in black or white

Fills me with fear and causes me fright

Extremes affect the way we think

And leaves our nations on the brink

 

Why can’t we realizes we need the grays

Shadows bring accents in many ways

Creativity and paradigm shifts

Would not be possible without the mix

 

Must we think only in black or white

Judging our brothers when “they don’t do right”

Or can we simply love their flaws

The grays and shades are part of us all

 

Black and white makes everyone halt

Shutter and cringe at every fault

Blends are the creations we all need

To love our brothers, and not to bleed

But I guess as long as there are two

Black or white will judge them too

 

Love the differences don’t get up tight

Live in peace and let’s not fight

Recognize that if we want to survive

Black and white will not keep us alive

Thinking we are always right

Life will surely be a fright

 

Black and White Photo taken in Philadelphia – 1976 – Dwight Roth