Black Sheep

Call me the black sheep,
the could be
the wanted to be
but never was.
Name me the backdrop,
the shadow,
the breakthrough that never did.
I was the nightlight that burned out,
looking like a spotlight that failed.
I tried to be the center but I got sidelined,
where I learned to cheer for settling.
Smiling for the second best lesson
that taught me what I was good for
and I learned it..
I’m still learning it…
by now I’m sure I earned it..
because I worked hard to clean my plate,
swallow down the taste of the lesson
until not believing in myself tasted good.
It tasted as sweet as
not having any
other taste to compare it to.
I chewed it like a habit until it became
a liquid diet of perfection that I never
knew how to spit out
and it fills me.
I am engorged now in my growing
with the same emptiness
I got from
all those years of trying to steal light
from your shadow and I’m sorry…
I only wanted to know what it felt like
to shine.
I wanted to be golden for once,
not like silence,
but like the sun.
I never was.
But now,
I couldn’t tell you
which one feels warmer.
The silence
feels like a home I found in abandon
and I wear it like it could still save me.
Call me the lone wolf,
who never ran wild
because I was in your shadow when I died.

 

Stephanie Bennett-Henry

Stephanie Bennett-Henry is the creator of Raging Rhetoric, the hugely popular Facebook page, IG profile, and website. With a social media following in the hundreds of thousands, Stephanie is regarded as one of today's most highly respected poets. Her writing is raw, unfiltered, and unforgettable. Born and raised in Texas, Stephanie is a southern girl through and through, sharp as a blade and as sweet as candy. You can find Stephanie's exquisite words on her Facebook Writer page, website, IG, and Raging Rhetoric Column on The Lithium Chronicles. From somewhere in Texas, Stephanie is working on her first book of poetry. Look for her pieces in home decor and gift shops all over North America very soon.

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Stephanie Bennett-Henry is the creator of Raging Rhetoric, the hugely popular Facebook page, IG profile, and website. With a social media following in the hundreds of thousands, Stephanie is regarded as one of today's most highly respected poets. Her writing is raw, unfiltered, and unforgettable. Born and raised in Texas, Stephanie is a southern girl through and through, sharp as a blade and as sweet as candy. You can find Stephanie's exquisite words on her Facebook Writer page, website, IG, and Raging Rhetoric Column on The Lithium Chronicles. From somewhere in Texas, Stephanie is working on her first book of poetry. Look for her pieces in home decor and gift shops all over North America very soon.

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2 thoughts on “Black Sheep

  1. I’m floored by this. So relatable and incredibly, beautifully well expressed.

    I want to read more by this amazing poet.

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