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Tuesday 23 October 2007

Consolation Prize! TOP 3 Horse

CONSOLATION PRIZE
(FOR SALLY)

VERY SOON!
More arty than artisan
much more crafty than craftsman
but my bathroom's almost done
all the tiles except one...
Wall that is - but very soon
it will look right, then I'll be
bathing - morning, noon and night.
71095

Totally Optional Prompts
ONE HORSE
The Kings soldiers come in the night
kill his father, rape his mother.
'You can't make a silk purse...' they curse
as they force the pig farmers wife
one after another till dawn.

They tie the boy to a donkey
so that he has to run behind.
They ride out of the piggery,
fording the cold stream at first light.

When they are sure the boy can't read
they cut out his tongue for the dogs
and brand him with a hot iron
urinating on his fresh wound
they leave him lying there bleeding
for the camp-followers to find.

In an un-interpretable
hieroglyphic of his own hand
he scrawls his last thoughts on the wall
of the royal stable in blood:
One horse powers a thousand dreams...
TOP3-221007

13 comments:

  1. Thanks for your comment on TOP. I appreciate your stepping in and contacting Ted Kooser directly. You are the man.

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  2. Graphic and disturbing, though well done.

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  3. Whoa. You saw through my big brown eye. Excellent.

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  4. An intense read. Very powerful.

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  5. Well written. Chilling, truthful and revealing. Shivers.

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  6. Wow. Such cringe-worthy imagery. Very nice.

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  7. Very powerful. It still happens in the remote parts of India...

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  8. Wow! thanks everybody for visiting!
    I really appreciate all of your comments. You know it was weird how One Horse came about - I went to bed thinking about the Ted Kooser poem Horse and when I woke in the morning, I could see the whole scenario - I felt compelled to jot it down.

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  9. I could see it all, like viewing a film by Ingmar Bergman....Wow!

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  10. Hi, just in case you're interested, you can read my other blog Inland Driftwood at www.properjoes.blogspot.com I'm going to be posting some new stuff over there soon so feel free to "take a butchers".

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  11. is this poem autobiographical?

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  12. Hi Ruth, I take it you are talking about the first poem not Horse! Yes, I love diy I start new projects all the time - but finishing them...

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