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sometimes, horses

BY HELEN VITORIA

the last time I thought of you was on an airplane to Chicago
beneath, I saw the Pennsylvania landscape in snow and I swear       I saw horses 
kneeling in fields, drinking at frozen basins, running uneasy in their own silence

I’ve grown accustomed to holding my breath through any pleasure or pain

sometimes, I understand the plight of horses
their need to use what they have             Turning fear into power is not easy

but they fool you and with their weight pin you against the stall door when you least expect it
                                                      if only for a moment

what soreness in their jawline          the bridle must cause
when something unexpected touches their face        they twitch
twitch at               steel spurs on ribs, at the feel of leg on leg

days when I am rereading fragments of Seferis
these are the things that I cannot forget:

The snow and the water frozen in the hoofmarks of the horses


Helen Vitoria’s work can be found and is forthcoming in many online and print journals: elimae, MudLuscious Press, PANK, Rougarou, FRIGG Magazine, kill author, Dark Sky Magazine and others. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks and a full-length poetry collection: Corn Exchange forthcoming from Scrambler Books, Spring 2012. Her poems have been nominated for Best New Poets & the Pushcart Prize. She is the Founding Editor & Editor in Chief of THRUSH Poetry Journal & THRUSH Press. Find her here: http://helenvitoria-lexis.blogspot.com/.
ISSN 2157-8079
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