If I forgot myself for a moment,
I would take the smoke of every dark dream
And the white of a wedding dress--
I would take the shadow of every hurtful loss
And the white of clean sheets on a summer morning...
I would be light and wild and long-haired
With nothing to keep me on but two fistfuls of mane;
And when we would go thundering past the Reverend's house,
I would disappear down my horse's side, Indian style,
As if I might come burn down the house
Right in the middle of afternoon tea.
There has been light and dark to every day I have ever lived
And to every page I have ever read;
A girl and her horse, common as dirt, and yet uncommon in all our particulars.
When we are fast enough,
My hair behind me in the wind is dark at the root and white at the ends--
Remember us.
We will not pass this way again.
____________
The horse pictured is The Gypsy King.
____________
Bet that pic inspired the poem!
ReplyDeleteAloha from Waikiki
Comfort Spiral
WOW!
ReplyDeleteI love the line about taking the white from a wedding dress. Oh,I would like to do that and wrap myself in it.
Great stuff.
Once again, I feel like a complete idiot saying, "Great! Brilliant! I love it!" but I do.
ReplyDeleteNo, dear girl.
ReplyDeleteYou may have a regular horse, but you are not common.
Uncommon? perhaps.
Magnificent? Definitely.
"There has been light and dark to every day I have ever lived" - now THAT is pure poetry!
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm partial to horses and that Gypsy King is gorgeous...but not as beautiful as my Gypsy was :)
Absolutely gorgeous poem, Shay.
enjoyed this post
ReplyDeletei'd like to join you on this...
ReplyDeleteWhat a magnificent image of freedom. Well done my friend, well done indeed.
ReplyDeleteHow passionate and sentimental. I love it!!
ReplyDeleteto run so free and with such grace...very nice.
ReplyDeleteI can feel the wind rushing past my ears .. tickling my nose .. hair streaming ... awesome ..
ReplyDeleteLovely - I can just imagine the feeling of being on horseback.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteTHIS is your best poem ever.
ReplyDeleteWell, in my top 3 or so.
...breathes lightly now and glides away on a sort of misty moonbeam from every summer night past.
xoxo
Shay, this is an amazing, fantastic write and one of your best ever. Blessings!! xoxo
ReplyDeleteYou got me sayin' "YES" at the end of this one, Shay. Philosophizing about the paradox of light and dark is one of my favorite things to do. And you do it so beautifully.
ReplyDeleteThis made me forget myself.
ReplyDeleteAhhhh, that is perfect.
ReplyDeletejj
I think you plucked this from my heart...everytime I move I sense the movement and the wind inside me and you so eloquently put it.
ReplyDelete