nowhere to hang the moon and stars
fireworks and bonfire sparks
no colour to express the dog of depression
no clarity of words in books
no shadows in the sleep-soaked room at night
the pair of complicit magpies
haunting the garden
(two for joy)
would be all white
their once glossy jet feathers and impertinent tails
cocked like exclamation marks
no longer punctuating their echoing
cacophonous chatter
and garrulous garden gossip
Kim M. Russell, 5th November 2019
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: On Shades of Black
Anmol is our host for another week of dVerse Poetics. He says that black has been at the forefront of his mind and sight lately, as he has been thinking about its different shades, myriad interpretations and meanings, historical representations and contemporary assertions, its colourlessness and all-pervasiveness.
Today, he prompts us to share what comes to our minds when we picture ‘black’: what does it mean to us or what does it stand for? He says we can venture into different areas like identity, materialism, personal experiences, physics, et al or we can simply incorporate the word ‘black’ in our titles and poems.
To help us explore the realms of blackness, he has shared poems by Mary Oliver, Rilke, Gwendolyn Brooks and Paul Celan.
writing in north norfolk 
I love how you turned it around and thought about the absence of black… we do need it, the shadows and contrasts… and maybe even a touch of depression.
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Thanks Bjorn.
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Without black, I wonder if the experience of light and the myriad colours would be the same. Beautifully crafted, Kim! I love “sleep-soaked room’ and ‘impertinent tails/cocked like exclamation marks”.
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Thank you so much, Anmol.
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I think we would not appreciate happiness if there was no sadness, or colors without black. Well done Kim.
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Thank you, Linda. I agree.
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The absence of black would eliminated many things in life Kim — certainly the striking impact of many things.
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I love black.
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Black has got a bad rap sheet, synonymous with evil and other bad things. Not only is black needed for contrast, it’s needed to color the world. The entire color spectrum is hidden in its darkness.
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I wear black most of the time. I think that if I’d been born several decades later, I would have been a Goth.
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Nice descriptive line: “no shadows in the sleep-soaked room at night”
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Thank you, Frank.
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I love the birds with their tails! Yes indeed, we do need black in our lives.
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Thanks Toni. Black is my favourite colour and I wear it most days.
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Bits are a perfect example of why we need black. (K)
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True.
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That was supposed to be birds…I don’t know what my tablet is thinking sometimes.
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I have the same problem with my Kindle!
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Love this, Kim. Both thought and expression.
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Thank you Judy!
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Did you sing “The ink is black, the page is white” at school? You reminded me of that. Black is the necessary counterpoint, the essential contrast. We wouldn’t get far without it.
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Contrast is perception, and where would that be without black, which offers the strongest of contrasts? Well done, Kim.
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Thank you, Ken.
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I love this! And the magpies. I don’t think we have them here. I have never seen one.
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Thank you so much, Mary. We have two in our garden. They are very noisy and like to let us know they are there!
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A beautiful portrayal of the absence of black! Great point of view, Kim!
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Thank you, Bev!
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“no clarity of words in books”
This leaps out at me, with my love of books. This is an excellent examination of the essentials that black provides in our lives.
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I’m so glad my poem, spoke to you, Barry!
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“garrulous garden gossip” – wonderful word string. The fact of having contrast is important.
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Thank you, Sara.
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Love the sound of those last two lines. And oh how right you are….we are indebted to the color black. I never did agree with that villain/black and purity/white idea. Realizing that in the color wheel, white is an absence and black is a fullness (all colors combined) seems to bring, for me, a clearer understanding.
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Thank you, Lill. Black adds shade and contrast to life.
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