A Poem of Thanksgiving, from "Song of the Overcast"
That Autumn in Pennsylvania Little has given me so much joy as to walk quietly into that field of horses early each Saturday, the smell of earth and animal sweet and musky, to look for the reddish freckled one called Strawberry. To approach her as I would a loved one sleeping. I’d let her notice me, run my hand along the length of her neck, speak low and sing-song of the morning’s innocence. Of her warmth. I could be tethered to this earth forever, forgetting what our bodies lose every moment to the open air. Our exhalations rising in clouds, disappearing into the fields of the sky. Here is the scent and warmth of uneven ground. And breath enough for large and small breathing bodies. Taking her reins I start walking. Her ponderous hooves lift and follow. When her head swings down for a scratch across my wool sweater, I feel the weight of her. Such large love so late in the year. —From Song of the Overcast , a chapbook of poems by Beverly Voigt
Beverly looks and sounds every inch the poet-and she claims the title within this poem: "...more observer than inhabitant. Beautiful work!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, dear Elaine!
Delete