I've seen videos of horses
long legged, just born, shuddering
& steaming, fighting just to stand
too soon. A life of running,
a strength of body, a rippling
brown energy they don't yet know.
This video, an interior shot,
loose hay & metal buckets,
a kind of everystall. Everyhorse
reborn & unshod. For now.
I watch, the image handheld,
the camera handheld. Held
in suspense through the inevitable
slips & corrections, hooves clean
& unsure. For now.
The newborn saddled only
with expectations. No hands
steady the slow progress,
no mare's nuzzle
in frame.
A foal alone. Eyes wide.
Such a drama to rise,
still wild, still free. Then
still. wild. still. free.
I've never seen youtube's
part two.
The gelding & tagging, the shots
& shodding. The saddle cinched,
cold steel along the tongue,
head gear, iron, leather,
& a name.
Be careful who watches you
take to your feet.
Be careful who tames you
& calls you by name.
cuidado: Spanish for "care" "attention". Sometimes used on its own to mean, "Be careful."
I’ve been keeping notebooks only for a couple of years, almost never sharing my work. Maybe both parts of that are a surprise to some — how new I am to personal writing, how rare it is that I share it.
Some friends online encouraged me to write & post for the month of March 2022. I’m gonna try to post every day. My sincerest gratitude to these friends, friends I’ve never met in person. Here goes somethin’.
juvenilia 1: compositions produced in the artist’s or author’s youth 2: artistic or literary compositions suited to or designed for the young
middleagedmiddlechild. 