The author sat in the viewing room above the arena waiting for her daughter and the instructor to appear for the weekly lesson. A groom led a horse into the empty arena and released it for a few minutes of turnout. The horse’s antics inspired Jennifer’s poem.
“Life jolts us at certain moments,” she says.
We are never truly free
but tell that to the horse
who on a Saturday morning
has a few minutes to himself
in the pasture
just for the purpose of
thundering
in his moment
to do whatever wild thing
he has conceived
in the early half-light.
Unstalled, he sails in circles
bucks an invisible rider
to stretch his spine
lets his tail fly behind
silk on the wind
he lets all his elegance loose.
Unfettered,
this is his time
to raise the flag of his exceptional power
with a blankness of purpose
he feels the full threat of his own inertia
and for a moment
there are no walls
no fences no halters
just the gently rotating earth
which receives each step
to feed his fire
just the wind and his will
to guide him.
Posted May 25, 2022