Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tuesday Poem - Two Tribes by Sherryl Clark



TWO TRIBES

Which two? Can you
name them, tell me
who they are?
Do they live together,
or are they at
each other’s throats?
This world, so bent on
assimilation, so vocal
about fitting in,
wants one tribe,
one way of living.
Drums beat, words spin,
you climb into an aeroplane
and flash across
a web of countries,
flying over people
you never see.
Try this – live with
the other tribe
without knowing their language,
their customs, their version
of courtesy.
See how well they treat you.
See how well
you treat them.

First published in Trust Me (Ford Street, 2008)
Thanks to Sherryl Clark for permission to publish this poem. 



Sherryl Clark has two collections of poems published by Pariah Press - Edge and Thicker Than Water. Her verse novel Farm Kid won the 2005 NSW Premier’s Literary Award for children’s books, and her second verse novel, Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!) was an Honour Book in the 2008 CBCA Awards. Her most recent verse novel, Runaways, was published by Penguin Books in 2013.

Anyone interested in Australia poetry written for children and young adults should check out this new website. Congratulations to Di Bates for all her hard work promoting Australian poets working in the field of children's literature!

Don't forget to check out the Tuesday Poem blog. Moira Wairama is featured this week, guest edited by Andrew Bell - and there is more poetry to see if you check out the sidebar.

1 comment:

Michelle Elvy said...

A nice call to contemplation and consideration for young readers. I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the world really wants one voice -- but I like the last two lines.