(See video below.)
A Blessing
James Wright
Just off the highway to Rochester, Minnesota,
Twilight bounds softly forth on the grass.
And the eyes of those two Indian ponies
Darken with kindness.
They have come gladly out of the willows
To welcome my friend and me.
We step over the barbed wire into the pasture
Where they have been grazing all day, alone.
They ripple tensely, they can hardly contain their happiness
That we have come.
They bow shyly as wet swans. They love each other.
There is no loneliness like theirs.
At home once more,
They begin munching the young tufts of spring in the darkness.
I would like to hold the slenderer one in my arms,
For she has walked over to me
And nuzzled my left hand.
She is black and white,
Her mane falls wild on her forehead,
And the light breeze moves me to caress her long ear
That is delicate as the skin over a girl’s wrist.
Suddenly I realize
That if I stepped out of my body I would break
Into blossom.
6 comments:
WOW
thanks Paul for the great pics, sharp with the clarity and crunch of such a day
thanks for 'A Blessing'
WOW
love, love, love the james wright poem. sometimes i wish i understood why the connection to animals is so compelling for many of us. but what if i did understand?
after the 1997 flood here, we lived for a time on the grand forks air force base. i loved to walk over to a field where horses were kept. one horse that looked like jon bon jovi would come to the fence and let me touch him.
I know they are animals, with fur coats, hooves and all, but I wonder that they can bear the cold.
I worry for these horses, crunching over the snow. Where are their snow shoes and where's the fire to keep them warm?
Enough anthropomorphising.
These are beautiful photos, for all my identification.
Thank you, David. It did feel like that horse wanted to reenact the moment in the poem, as if he'd known of it. If I go over and nuzzle his hand, maybe they'll break into blossom.
Thanks, Nancy. I thought I knew the poem, but I experienced it differently typing it out. It's wonderful to think of a horse with a Jon Bon Jovi face. I don't think I'll ever think of JBJ the same ever again!
Thanks, Elisabeth, but not to worry. Those horses seemed to be extremely well taken care of--they knew they were something! And it was actually quite warm in the sun that afternoon. I think they were enjoying the sun on their flanks after days and days of cold.
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