James Moore Poet Narrative

Notes About The Poem

Of Sheep and Goats

(“Pantheism Merit Badge”, 2011, original oil)

People come in all shapes and sizes
But in my experience 
There are basically only two types;
Sheep and goats.
Now everyone knows
Sheep go to heaven and goats go to hell,
But pretty much you are what you are
And can only pretend otherwise for so long.

Of course the heaven of sheep
Is nothing more than a nice green pasture
Fenced in and patrolled by a big dog
While the hell of a goat 
Is a rocky knoll, with a nice view 
And no body to disturb him.

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take the rocky knoll
Without its vaccinations or public school indoctrination
Any day, and any way
Come hell or high water.
After all, I know how to climb and swim
And living free or dying
Isn’t a choice
But a statement of fact.

Now that I think of it
I can understand where the sheep are coming from
And that safe little pasture down there
Sure looks nice,
But wait, isn’t that the mobile slaughter truck
Coming up their drive now…

(10/4/25)

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