The Pounding of Hooves - April 15 2021

 

The Pounding of Hooves

April 15 2021

I noticed how the falcon

that keen-eyed raptor of blinding speed

went quiet in his cowl.

How even the giraffe,

captured

to be transported somewhere safe,

goes calm in his mask.

How this skittish creature on gangly legs

who, at a glance, seems so delicate

but with a single kick can kill a lion

is so easily subdued.

But these are dumb animals

who don't understand

that the world doesn't stop

in darkness.

So what about me,

averting my eyes

prone to denial

avoiding the news

I'd rather not hear?

As if at 6 months of age

I had never mastered object permanence.

As if I were certain

I could hold the world at bay

by retreating to my walled fortress

and puttering about,

tending the garden

ticking-off the chores

preparing balanced meals.

But the perennial war goes on

the planet warms

and the conversation coarsens,

our megaphones echoing

in the comfortable silos

where we feel the belonging we crave.

And the four demonic horsemen

growing louder and louder,

the pounding of hooves

as they gallop closer and closer.

Me and you, in our universe of 2.

How easy to believe

we can be alone

exempt from the whirlwind.

And how hard we try,

holding you close

looking into your eyes

and feeling your heat against mine.

Nature, First Prize, Singles—Rescue of Giraffes From Flooding Island: A Rothschild’s giraffe is transported to safety in a custom-built barge from the flooded Longicharo Island in Lake Baringo, western Kenya, on December 3, 2020

This photo won first prize in the Nature category in the World Press Photo Contest of 2021. It immediately struck how such a powerful and skittish animal could be calmed simply by covering its eyes. As if the world had receded into darkness and all was suddenly safe.

While we think of covering our eyes as an unbecoming act of denial, I still felt envious: because how convenient would it be to so easily wish away all the tumult and conflict and threat of the world simply by putting your head into a paper bag!

This also reminds me of my conflicting view of bourgeois values. On the one hand, there is in the word “bourgeois” the implication of self-satisfied complacency and small-mindedness. But on the other, I have this sneaking suspicion that bourgeois values may be our ultimate salvation. If, instead of the greed, megalomania, sanctimonious conviction, and psychopathy that seem to drive the human race deeper into darkness, the sturdy responsible modest views of the vast majority of people prevailed – tending to our gardens, caring for our families – we'd be fine. And I am also reminded how this view of life also unites us, demonstrating our commonality: how people of very different cultures all over the world want essentially the same things. So while it is fashionable to disparage the bourgeoisie, there is something to be said for boring!

I should clarify what I mean by “the perennial war”. It is now 2021, 2 decades since the World Towers fell. And 2 decades since the start of the war in Afghanistan. It is also a couple of days since President Biden committed his country to a complete pull-out by the highly symbolic date of Sept 11 of this year: 20 years to the day. The Afghan war is the longest in US history. Not to mention a costly futile war that by definition could never have succeeded because it had no coherent objective, no end point or exit strategy. Unwinnable because it is a combination of civil war, religious war, counter-insurgency, and great power competition. The US always seems to be war somewhere in the world. But this is the perennial war of perennial war.