Horse Barn - Jan 20 2022

 

Horse Barn

Jan 20 2022

On a January day

the barn was warm and cozy.

It smelled of hay, manure, horse.

So sweetness, and something earthy,

along with that fleshy animal essence

we share with all living things

that breathe the same air

and pulse with blood.

The sound of heavy breathing,

and steam, hovering briefly

with each exhale.

A soft whinny

the clomping of hooves,

the dull thwack

of a tail against a stall.

Their handsome heads were lowered

into loose bales of hay.

They had that middle distance look

of simple contentment,

massive yellow molars

grinding back and forth

at a steady measured pace.

I'm a city boy.

I do not ride

and I'm wary of horses.

But in the barn, I felt at home.

There is something calming

about these big working animals

and this peaceful refuge.

Beasts of burden

but somehow noble.

Skittish

and creatures of flight,

but also formidable

in strength and size.

Flat-footed, in such an enclosed space,

yet in motion

so full of grace.

A carrot, to tempt her,

and she offers her head over the gate,

taking it ever so gently

between strong prehensile lips,

her dexterous touch

as sensitive as a human hand.

For a second, our eyes connect,

and as I gaze into hers

I notice how soft and brown and liquid they are,

am surprised

by the extravagant lashes

that curve from her lids.

How unexpectedly girlish they seem.

Yet how perfect, I think,

as she bats her eyes

and lowers her head

and calmly returns to her feed.

I was listening to an interview with Benedict Cumberbatch about his role in his recent film The Power of the Dog. Images of a hyper-masculine cowboy in Montana and what he went through to prepare for the part put me in mind of horses: the appeal of these great equine creatures. A charisma I think I understand, notwithstanding my own wariness around them. And not that I have much experience. Actually, so little, that this portrait is mostly an act of imagination. ...So I hope I got it right!

If there is any point to this poem, it's the commonality between the lives of animals and men. Domesticated and warm-blooded, of course; but also all living things that breathe the same air. Because — just as we do with our fellow humans — our unfortunate tendency is to focus more on difference than similarity.

I've used the verb exhale as a noun. “Exhalation” seemed a little clunky in that short line. I checked, and this is not strictly correct. But I suspect spoken language is evolving in that direction, and written will follow. The verbing of nouns is more common (to wit, “verbing”!) But there's no reason it can't go the other way.