Wild Horses

A group of three horses to the right of the first stanza. One horse faces the left and rears up, one stands still with hair blowing and faces the right, and the third is depicted as if in motion facing the left.

A girl in my class

is effortlessly

unquestioningly worshipped and

loves horses so much

everyone

in her gravitational field

loves horses now.

Two horses closely below the previous three. The horse on the right faces the left and is depicted as if in motion. The horse on the left stands with its front right hoof raised and its mane flowing upwards.

She brings

painted horse models

to school

bestows them

one by one

upon the worthy.

A growing herd

of prancing beauties

day by day,

more and more

enthusiastically corralled

across smooth desktops.

The luckiest earn

coveted blond equines

preening and posing

manes flowing

in invisible wind.

And my desk is an empty acre.

Burning shame

colors my days.

A horse in the bottom right corner of the page, separated from the other horses. It stands with a lowered head and its left front hoof raised.

Excluded from the game

of being included.

Saturday afternoon

my family walks through

the big red doors

of Arnold’s Toy Store,

my heart lunges at

one lonely, untamed horse, tan and dusty

galloping under glass.

I point, eager, eager—

but the ask is caught in my throat.

We’re all being careful today.

A horse at the top of the page with its front and back legs straightened and mane and tail flowing upwards. It faces the right.

One wrong step will detonate

Mom’s land-mine fury at Dad

for disappearing

into drinking last night.

This family stroll down Main Street

his weary bloodshot penance.

Dad points out

train sets

rainbow puzzles

magic kits

and waves stuffed animals

in Christopher’s and Cara’s faces

till they giggle,

unwinding the spring trigger

on Mom’s rage.

Who cares about

plain pretty horses anyway? I

always liked unicorns.

A unicorn at the bottom of the page with a spiky mane and tail, as well as hair beneath its chin reminiscent of a goatee. Its horn is about as long as its neck and its visible eye is personified to be squinting. It has dark hooves and is lifting its front right leg. It faces the left.