The Sheep Child Explanation

The Sheep Child is a Poem by James Dickey. He is telling of how a mutilated child, half sheep and half human, was born and how it stops farm boys from sexually assaulting animals.
The poem is divided into stanzas that are eight lines.
The first Stanza is based on the farms. It explains how boys couple with anything they can but avoid live animals.
The second Stanza however jumps to a museum in Atlanta wherethe mutilated creature is that keeps the boys away from the live stock.
The third stanza is in the past tense where the narrator looks back on those times and how they have changed.
Then the turning point happens and the poem is narrated through the mind of the demented creature in the museum.

This poem is split into two parts. the first part explains an evil from the eyes of the evil-doers. The second part is from the eyes of that which is harmed by it.

this poem could be interpreted as an explanation of how legends control and change our lives. The legend of the beast has kept kids away from sheep. However, it is physically imposible for that to happen. Just like the stories of lock-ness or Big Foot or the Jersey Devil. These are highly unlikely but they are myths and legends created for a purpose. In the sheeps case it is to protect sheep.
The sheep/man could be a symbol of satan as a mutilation of the human form. This would make sense because it represents greed lust and gross, disgusting things.

Another way to interpret this poem is to look at the second part as the most influential portion. The second part is more of the hopless plight of a young. "Dead, i am most certainly living In the minds of farm boys" this quote from lines 55-56 shows how the creature is a warden that keeps farm boys away from sheep even if it might not be real.

"I am he who drives them like wolves from the hound bitch and calf" from lines 56-57 is written by the author to solidify the creatures status.
The Second part could be interpreted as exactly opposite of the first. The creature could be considered a savior to its people(the sheep). It sacraficed itself to save its sheep. It was killed. It was saved in a museum, or just in the minds of boys, until the persecuters moved on. It died while it was still in the juices of birth and that represents new life, Jesus had new life after death.