Life from Behind a Horse**

Published by Book of Matches, January 2023

--

This city rouses early,

up and moving by 4 a.m., while the moon still

mirrors the sun;, while the sun is still sleeping

headlights sweep back and forth

like a search for prisoner escape but no escapee

can outrun the lights that flash by on the highway.

Two year ago I saw those lights pointed to the sky,

another lone light lit up the desert and a lone Joshua tree.

The air smelled of rubber burnt and red metal bled

scraped raw, and it made me want to slow down and live

instead of rushing out to die. This city is like most, I guess,

with its share of drivers who drink and drive and fly and

face mortality at every red light, so I might give up on driving,

buy myself a dog to walk beside, or maybe a pony and cart

would be a better fit as I am used to being downwind

from a horse's a*s. But it's really too far not to drive,

and I don't have a garden made so instead I guess I'll buy

myself an old tank, a Cadillac, and a helmet for the dog.

Or maybe Shelia will go to the store for me. Shelia says a poet

is like one of her cakes, the toothpick comes out clean

when he's done.

Reviews

[Ken e Bujold]

I love this Winston. How the serious start slowly unpacks itself into a delicious little tart of clever whimsy that slyly packs a solid wallop of hard-earned wisdom. The ending is a killer, toothpick poet baked to perfection.

Ken e

[W. Barrett Munn]

Thanks so much, Ken. This one was propelled by one of my favorite poets, Jim Harrison. When I spend time reading Pulitzer winning poets, I seem to find something to say and say it better. It’s not copying but a matter of absorbing.
Winston

[Ken e Bujold]

yes I know what you mean, well-written poetry inspires and stimulates