A black sheep banished
By meek lambs for breaking free
Of a wooden fence
While they stand motionless,
Carotid arteries waiting to be severed,
Shank cut so clean
The flesh mistakes a gash
For a warm pat.
So young that they could not remember
It was the doting farmer
Holding the knife.
This was first published in Sontag Mag on January 5, 2024.
Gretchen is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize-nominated poet and essayist from the Philippines, where she embraces life while managing bipolar disorder and ADHD. Her confessional pieces unpack the complexities of grief, healing, motherhood, love, and intersections, garnering recognition from the Greg Grummer Poetry Contest and Navigator's Travel Writing Competition.