Monday, December 13, 2010

On a Windy Day

The Horse Latitudes


I hear the wind
as horses racing through the tree tops.
Their hooves are shedding
leaves


For a moment,
I think of catching an air stallion,
of lying in wait up an old oak
with a dream lariat


He would be as blue as sky,
with a mane like a contrail,
and, oh, he would be fast.
We’d make thunder together


But maybe he’s better
running distances with his herd.
We humans have tamed so much.
Let the wild wind be

----
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40 comments:

Rick said...

Okay, this is my type of poetry! Louis L'Amour would be proud of you.

Ty said...

I concur. Very nice.

Travis Erwin said...

Love it. If I had any critical comment it would be that Let The Wild Wind Be would make a great title.

Heff said...

I hear it too ! And it's COLD as a MoFo here !

sage said...

a cowboy poet? Yesterday, we had such wind, and the horses were white and cold blew from their nostrils.

Deka Black said...

Cowboy poetry. I like it.

Charles Gramlich said...

Rick, thankee. feeling a bit frisky today!

Ty, thanks. Glad you enjoyed.

Travis Erwin, I think you're right. That would be better than the one I've got. I'll change that if I ever submit it.

Heff, two weeks ago I put up an outside thermometer and it's been recordign only cold weather since. Maybe it's the effign thermoter.

Sage, oooh, I like that a lot.

Deka, and I'm not even reading a western. I was reading Star Trek last night though, and it was a space western in some ways.

Harry Markov said...

I like it. Not sure why [cause I don't get poetry that much], but it has a very sweat air to it.

Ron Scheer said...

Nicely done, bud. Reminds me a little of "Ghost Riders in the Sky."

Mary Witzl said...

I like that too. And Travis is right: 'Let the Wild Wind Be' would be a great title.

Charles Gramlich said...

Harry, I'm not sure it's neccesary to get poetry. I don't always get it either but I like the sound at times.

Ron, hadn't thought about "Ghost riders" but I can see that. Maybe it's an influence since I always liked that song.

Mary, I agree with you and Travis. A nice title indeed.

G. B. Miller said...

Nice.

I actually liked this (which is saying a lot because I absolutely do not get most poetry that I read)

ivan said...

I too write horse poetry, but with me it don't scan very well. Sort of "Riders of the Purple Stage."

Cloudia said...

Excellent and accessible!






Aloha from Hawaii

Comfort Spiral

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Travis Cody said...

I like it.

Oddly enough, I read an essay today that questioned whether American poetry was dead as an art form. I don't think it is at all.

We're out here writing.

Lana Gramlich said...

I love your poetry hon and this one certainly doesn't disappoint.

nephite blood spartan heart said...

Great stuff Charles, it has the resonance (for me) you've mentioned lately.

Ello - Ellen Oh said...

Very nice! I can close my eyes and see it.

Charles Gramlich said...

G, I never thought I liked poetry until I discovered Dylan Thomas in college. AFter that I just fell in love with good poetry.

ivan, lol. Writers of the purple page. Writers for the purple wage.

Cloudia, thanks, glad you liked it.

Travis Cody, I don't think it is either, although I think some good stuff in particular is being done in speculative poetry.

Lana Gramlich, you sweet.

David J. West, I appreciate that. It came to me as I was out in the yard this morning with the wind blowing wild.

Ello, that makes me happy. Glad to hear it.

Deka Black said...

Charles, a friend ofmine says what there is space western because is like is said in Star Trek: Space is the Ultimate Frontier (not the last).

the walking man said...

Yeah man let the wind ride free and let that herd be heard in hooves of thunder running in the next valley over.

laughingwolf said...

as one born in the year of the horse... eeeeeeeehawwwwwwwwwwww!

Charles Gramlich said...

Deka, I think frontiers in general cause some of the same kind of mentality that went into the American West so most frontiers are going to create that sense.

Mark, agreed!

Laughingwolf, lol.

Jodi MacArthur said...

This is how mythology is born. I just adore this, Charles. Did you ever read Madeline L'engle's work? This reminds me of her wild imagination.

jodi said...

Charles, lovely imagery. I hate wind but love horses!

ArtSparker said...

Lovely, it almost feels like something Robert Louis Stevenson could have written, distinctively unmodern. What a nice surprise to find here!

pattinase (abbott) said...

Boy, I liked that. I wonder what you do with the sound of snow sliding and skiding off my house. It's coming down with great cracks and shudders. We have a very steep roof and it really is frightening to hear it.

Charles Gramlich said...

Jodi MacArthur, I have read some of her work. Maybe there is an influence coming through. A wild imagination always impresses me.

jodi, I love 'em both, though I'm more familiar with wind.

ArtSparker, thanks. I don't do a lot of poetry, at least in recent years, but sometimes it captures me.

pattinase, I've heard it some like that when I lived in Arkansas, though it has been a longggg time.

X. Dell said...

Mighty impressive. Powerful imagery. Dense textural interpretations.

Hmmm. Sometimes I wonder if poetry is kinda like a prosaic description of an acid trip (horse with contrail manes, ascending towards the heavens--but it's the wind).

Sigh. I'll just never be a poet. I'll just have to content myself with reading them.

Richard Prosch said...

Nicely elegant. Good job! (Ten times better than Jim Morrison's lyrics for the Doors' HORSE LATITUDES.)

Erik Donald France said...

Ahaha -- good work, indeed. I dig it.

And a la Rick's comment, my Dad loaned me some Louis L'Amour poetry, I should check it out.

At work, I feel like leaves are falling off me -- is Christmas break here yet? My office for a horse~~>

David Cranmer said...

Sharp poetry, Charles. Wish I could write like that.

Vesper said...

Charles, this is so beautiful... The images are fantastic, and I can feel the wind and the hooves in the sky...

For a moment,
I think of catching an air stallion,
of lying in wait up an old oak
with a dream lariat


Superb!

Charles Gramlich said...

X. Dell, when I write poetry I try to unfocus my mind, like when you try to deliberately unfocus your eyes and you see two lines as you read on the page. SO maybe it is a little "acidic"

Richard Prosch, lol. Thanks. I'm not much of a fan of Morrison's poetry.

Erik Donald France, danke. I think L'Amour's prose is much better than his poetry but there is some good stuff in his work.

David Cranmer, you probably can if you try.

Vesper, thank you. That means much coming from a poet of your talent.

budh.aaah said...

Hey a nice scene played out in the mind going with the words. It doesnt always happen when I read

Steve Malley said...

You have this insane gift for imagery: vivid, moving imagery...

Wow. :)

Chris Phillips said...

I agree with Heff, wind = cold suckage

Charles Gramlich said...

budh.aaah, thanks. I appreciate the kind words.

Steve Malley, you're too kind, my friend.

Chris Phillips, but it's not so bad if you're in a nice warm house looking out.

Tyhitia Green said...

Love it. :-D And I agree with Travis. Catchy.

Charles Gramlich said...

Demon hunter, glad you enjoyed.