Mustangs in the clouds (poem)

Absolutely beautiful. A poem by our own Craig Downer.
Tuesday's Horse

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Vivian Grant

by CRAIG DOWNER
Peering over the Pine Nut Mountains
One blustery midsummer afternoon
Back in the roaring ‘90’s,
I beheld seven wild horses
In exquisitely sculpted white cloud forms.
Spanning a thousand feet or more.
Aligned with rumps and flowing tails to West
And gallant heads and flowing manes to East,
These marvels arched over
The windswept 9,000-foot N-S Pine Nut spine.
They leapt in graceful unison
And with the blessed ease
Of pure and liberated spirits.
Though I dashed into my home
To get my camera,
By the time I returned
They had vanished into thin air.
Presences manifest from higher dimension? I ask ye.
Yes, I think so.
For many years since childhood,
I have observed these physically incarnate wonders
Of flesh and bone, hide and mane,
And their more subtle effects.
Through many ups and downs:
Brutal roundups, shootings,
Water and forage deprivations
Perpetuated by greedy, devil-may-care man,
They have endured.
And if ever a group
Deserved to live free
Upon our North American continent
It is they!
These multi-million-year natives are
living symbols of freedom par
excellence shining forth for
all of us to see.
And by allowing them to so live we
In human form shall ourselves from selfishness,
– From pettiness of identification –
Wrest free!
———-

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mustangs in the Clouds, a true experience
By Craig C. Downer
Composed and typed in Carson Valley, Tues. May 17, 2011, 7:30 – 9:00 AM
For “image challenge” reading before Nevada Poetry Society, Sat. May 21, 2011

MORE beautiful images at Tuesday's Horse.