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| Photo courtesy of Sherry Elmer. Used by permission. |
There were a number of
excellent horse poems submitted this month. Christine Swanberg judged the
contest. There was a tie for third place:
Horse Sense
True to the path,
the horse bears the
troubles
of an anxious boy on its
back.
The horse gives
reassurance
with its steady cadence of
steps
along a grassy trail,
while the overhead sun
colors the sky gold.
A gentle wind tussles its
mane
with slight tugs on its
rein felt,
and the horse feels a
tender bond
with the young rider on
its back.
Mostly the horse feels
an easing of minds
found in an afternoon
shared.
~ Mike Bayles
The judge said this is a “lovely
portrait of horse and rider.” Tied with it is:
Ruffian and I
The Seventh of July in
nineteen seventy-five
Two thoroughbreds
thundering around the track
One a stallion, a Kentucky
Derby winner
One a filly, but bigger
than most of the boys
She was pulling away when
her leg shattered
But she didn’t stop running
Even the next day, coming
out of anesthesia
Laying on her side and
strapped down
She started running again
Undoing the repairs done
to her trashed bones
Still running until the
drugs took hold
That ended her running
forever.
The Fourth of July in two
oh one five
Yes, just forty years
later
And I can’t run either
A race cancelled, an ankle
on ice
Yes, my spirit wants to
keep running
But unlike the great
filly, I can make myself stop.
~ Chris Loehmer Kincaid
Swanberg liked the “unflinching
honesty regarding fate of Ruffian, boldly stated and compassionate.”
Second
place goes to the following poem:
Portrait of Tennessee
Walking Horse
I
study your large head, your mane silvered
with
age. In your warm brown eyes, time
dissolves
as I reach back beyond the accident,
and
you become breath of sun-scorched hay,
nuzzle
against my arm, lick of tongue on my hand.
You
lip apple wedges from my palm, and I listen
to
the chew and crunch. I meet your steady gaze
on
my face like a small thank you
between us.
Standing
before you in silence today,
the
canter of hooves across the vast and varied terrain
fills
my body with animal energy—
the
power you hold within, the gentleness it belies.
Your
coat carries the arc and blur of summer,
wafting
scent of clover.
You
return me to earthly abundance,
re-learning
all that was lost in the fall.
~
Mary Jo Balistreri
“The
accident which is alluded to makes the poem mysterious and powerful,” according
to Christine Swanberg.
First
place goes to “Matins.”
Matins
The
pony and I know the wind
is
coming. In the corral
on
the bronze hill we do
our
chores. While I rake and shovel
she
follows, nudging the wheelbarrow,
ears
flicking forward to listen
to
the first killdeer on the lake.
I
tell my husband this is my other life—
morning
before the children
race
for the bus, my little mare
touching
my face with her soft muzzle
and
frosted whiskers. When I'm gone the wind
will
rush across the water and we will both be
leaning
into it.
~
Lisa Zimmerman
Swanberg said, “I appreciate the elegant title, sculpted form
(couplets followed by single line), and intimate narrative of this poem.”
Congratulations
to these four poet for their fine work. Each poet retains ownership of his or
her own poem. Please do not copy the poems without permission.
Bios:
Mary Jo Balistreri has two books of poetry
published by Bellowing Ark Press, a chapbook and a mini chapbook of haiku in
the Infinites Series by Tiger’s Eye Press.
Her new book, Still, will be
published in September of 2018 by Future
Cycle Press. You are invited to visit her at maryjobalistreripoet.com.
Mike Bayles is the author of Breakfast at the Good Hope Home (918 Studio Press), a literary
collage, that tells a story about a son visiting his Alzheimer’s father in the
nursing home. His visits with relatives and friends on farms has given him an
appreciation between humans and animals.
Chris Loehmer Kincaid has been writing and loving horses ever since she
can remember. Her fourth book, Where the
Sky Meets the Sand, was released the first of September and though there
are no horses in it, there are many scenes in which the active imagination can
picture riding a horse across the African plain. She says, “As so many teen-age
girls, my younger days were filled with dreams about horses. The 1975 match
race between Foolish Pleasure and Ruffian, during which Ruffian shattered her
leg. The next day, she had to be put down. I’m pretty sure that was the first
time in my young life that I cried uncontrollably.
Lisa Zimmerman’s poetry and short stories
have appeared in Natural Bridge, Florida Review, River Styx, Colorado
Review, Poet Lore, Cave Wall, Redbook and other journals. She has published
six poetry collections, most recently The Light at the Edge of Everything
and The Hours I Keep. Her poems have been nominated four times for the
Pushcart Prize. Lisa is an associate professor at the University of Northern
Colorado and lives with her husband in north Fort Collins.
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| Photo courtesy of Sherry Elmer. Used by permission. |
Check
back early in October for the next Poetry Challenge.
©
Wilda Morris
