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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Okay, this is my type of poetry! Louis L'Amour would be proud of you.
ReplyDeleteI concur. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteLove it. If I had any critical comment it would be that Let The Wild Wind Be would make a great title.
ReplyDeleteI hear it too ! And it's COLD as a MoFo here !
ReplyDeletea cowboy poet? Yesterday, we had such wind, and the horses were white and cold blew from their nostrils.
ReplyDeleteCowboy poetry. I like it.
ReplyDeleteRick, thankee. feeling a bit frisky today!
ReplyDeleteTy, 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.
I like it. Not sure why [cause I don't get poetry that much], but it has a very sweat air to it.
ReplyDeleteNicely done, bud. Reminds me a little of "Ghost Riders in the Sky."
ReplyDeleteI like that too. And Travis is right: 'Let the Wild Wind Be' would be a great title.
ReplyDeleteHarry, I'm not sure it's neccesary to get poetry. I don't always get it either but I like the sound at times.
ReplyDeleteRon, 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.
Nice.
ReplyDeleteI actually liked this (which is saying a lot because I absolutely do not get most poetry that I read)
I too write horse poetry, but with me it don't scan very well. Sort of "Riders of the Purple Stage."
ReplyDeleteExcellent and accessible!
ReplyDeleteAloha from Hawaii
Comfort Spiral
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I like it.
ReplyDeleteOddly 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.
I love your poetry hon and this one certainly doesn't disappoint.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff Charles, it has the resonance (for me) you've mentioned lately.
ReplyDeleteVery nice! I can close my eyes and see it.
ReplyDeleteG, I never thought I liked poetry until I discovered Dylan Thomas in college. AFter that I just fell in love with good poetry.
ReplyDeleteivan, 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.
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).
ReplyDeleteYeah man let the wind ride free and let that herd be heard in hooves of thunder running in the next valley over.
ReplyDeleteas one born in the year of the horse... eeeeeeeehawwwwwwwwwwww!
ReplyDeleteDeka, 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.
ReplyDeleteMark, agreed!
Laughingwolf, lol.
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.
ReplyDeleteCharles, lovely imagery. I hate wind but love horses!
ReplyDeleteLovely, it almost feels like something Robert Louis Stevenson could have written, distinctively unmodern. What a nice surprise to find here!
ReplyDeleteBoy, 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.
ReplyDeleteJodi MacArthur, I have read some of her work. Maybe there is an influence coming through. A wild imagination always impresses me.
ReplyDeletejodi, 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.
Mighty impressive. Powerful imagery. Dense textural interpretations.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. 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.
Nicely elegant. Good job! (Ten times better than Jim Morrison's lyrics for the Doors' HORSE LATITUDES.)
ReplyDeleteAhaha -- good work, indeed. I dig it.
ReplyDeleteAnd 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~~>
Sharp poetry, Charles. Wish I could write like that.
ReplyDeleteCharles, this is so beautiful... The images are fantastic, and I can feel the wind and the hooves in the sky...
ReplyDeleteFor a moment,
I think of catching an air stallion,
of lying in wait up an old oak
with a dream lariat
Superb!
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"
ReplyDeleteRichard 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.
Hey a nice scene played out in the mind going with the words. It doesnt always happen when I read
ReplyDeleteYou have this insane gift for imagery: vivid, moving imagery...
ReplyDeleteWow. :)
I agree with Heff, wind = cold suckage
ReplyDeletebudh.aaah, thanks. I appreciate the kind words.
ReplyDeleteSteve 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.
Love it. :-D And I agree with Travis. Catchy.
ReplyDeleteDemon hunter, glad you enjoyed.
ReplyDelete