By Pavel Chichikov
A farrier at the horseshoe beating –
‘No one rides these beasts just now
Except they ride them as a hobby,
Status sport, police, for show
‘But here's a mare I'm working on,
A gelding's at the stable door –
There, the light is streaming in –
A last nail here to drive before
‘You mount the gelding – then away
To see the world – you just look down
And let the landscape flow beneath you
Don't let the running scare you – pray'
He drove the last nail, dropped the leg
And soon he'd saddled up and held
The placid gelding still for me
And up I went – the horse ran wild
It bolted through the open gate
Leaped the paddock then rose up
Above a line of maples, straight
On and eastward, never stopped
Till wind along the mane was pouring
Covering my eyes, but then
It calmed a moment as we passed
Through damp deep cloud, blew on again
I leaned to one side, dizzy, saw
The sun keep falling, street lights wind
Themselves around the silent houses,
Across the shoulders of the ground
The land went rippling by, alive
Rising, falling with two breaths
Of light and smoke, as if respiring –
We above and dusk beneath
Behind us roared a falling sun
Ahead two planets, one was Mars
The other bigger, Jupiter –
Around them were the dancing stars
The Shoulder of the Sun Part Two will be featured tomorrow.
To visit Pavel Chichikov's website click *here*
(photo: Pavel Chichikov)
