San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly

Charles Harmon
Race Horse

It seems we waited so long for the bell….

Did you fear my lasso?
The reins and the ties that bind?
You were trembling when I touched you,
When I stroked your mane and
Offered you the bridle and the bit.
I was scared, too--
The lariat could circle back on me.

As I watched you, eyes rolling, nostrils flaring,
I wondered: Will you buck? Throw me off?
Or will you kick me,
Hooves to my head, to my heart?
Did I even dare to dream
Of riding such a thoroughbred?

As you reared up on your long, lean haunches
I considered: Are you a filly, a mare, or both?
Either way, so domestic and gentle when in the stable:
A racehorse, untamed and wild as a mustang,
When let out to run.
Stamping your feet, you warned me
Against making false moves.

I only hope I could keep up with you,
Knowing there is as much excitement in the anticipation
As in the race itself, or in the joy of finishing.
Even if you’re a dark horse…
Win, lose, or place-- I’m betting on you!

Breaking out of the starting gate at last,
Going from zero to all out, to all-the-way
In one gigantic heartbeat,
So hard and fast you tore my clothes off,
Your legs furiously pounding, drumming like thunder
In a hurricane, your lightning striking into my heart,

Your long-legged beauty carrying me away,
Galloping so strong, so swiftly, you race horse,
Your fingers tearing at me, digging into my back,
Burning like fiery rain into the parched desert of our souls,
Gone too many years without rain….
The storm that had waited so long to burst out
Exploding.

We raced across the dark frozen wasteland of our pasts,
Snow melting behind us from the heat of impact,
Flowers bursting out of the muddy earth in our wake,
Rushing into a new world, the future,
Into the light,

Spring sun rising after a long, cold winter.
This is a horse race we both can win.
We’re in it for the long haul.
We don’t have to go too fast--
Only far.
If we finish, we both shall win,
Two hearts uncaged, running to the same rhythm.
And it looks like we can finish, neck and neck,
Together, every night,
Forever….