Wink
December 03, 2014 |
| Photo courtesy jhusemannde |
Introduction by Ted Kooser: I love poems with sudden
surprises, and here’s one by Jennifer Gray, a Nebraskan. Will you ever see
depressions puddled with rain without thinking of the image at her conclusion?
Horses
The neighbor’s horses idle
under the roof
of their three-sided shelter,
looking out at the rain.
Sometimes
one or another
will fade into the shadows
in the corner, maybe
to eat, or drink.
Still, the others stand,
blowing out their warm
breaths. Rain rattles
on the metal roof.
Their hoof prints
in the corral
open gray eyes to the sky,
and wink each time
another drop falls in.
American Life in Poetry is made possible by The Poetry
Foundation (www.poetryfoundation.org), publisher of Poetry magazine.
It is also supported by the Department of English at the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln. Poem copyright ©2013 by Jennifer Gray. Reprinted by
permission of Jennifer Gray. Introduction copyright © 2014 by The Poetry
Foundation. The introduction's author, Ted Kooser, served as United States Poet
Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 2004-2006. We do
not accept unsolicited manuscripts.
4 comments
This is a lovely poem Kathy. Never thought about puddles quite that way. Hope you are having a great week.
ReplyDeleteDebbie--I love the winking image. I will definitely see that in puddles from now on.
ReplyDeleteI like this one too. I remember thinking of you when I read it in my email.
ReplyDeleteCheryl--It would be hard not to think of me when you read this, what with the horses in it...
ReplyDelete