National Poetry Month 2018
Horse Races
This drawing has been in my files since the beginning of the month. I’ve passed over it again and again, not because I don’t love it, but because I have no experience with horse racing. I mean, none! I’ve never been to a horse race. I’ve never watched horse racing. It is a total foreign experience to me.
To enter into this drawing, I turned once again to Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge and PoemCrazy. She writes, “Poetry is a form of deep ecology, allowing us to experience the interdependence of everything on earth.”
Horse Race
Can you feel the beat
of the earth beneath
their feet?
Pounding horse hooves
in the wake
of the news.
Head down, focused strength,
we’ve all been there,
not knowing the outcome,
energy in the air.
Hold on tight.
This ride will be breathtaking.
Don’t let go.
The race is earthshaking.
Ride it out!
–Margaret Simon (c) 2018
Reflections on the Teche 
This is wonderful, Margaret. Your poem really captures the energy of the drawing, but also adds another level to it. That ending line is perfect!
Thanks. This one was a struggle. I’m not too confident when it comes to rhyming. Thanks for your support this month. It means a lot.
I’ve been to a few, and I have ridden in the past at a full gallop, but still can’t imagine racing as they do. It’s a gorgeous picture. I like that you connected to life: “This ride will be breathtaking./Don’t let go.”
The rhyme and rhythm really work in this poem to echo the repetitive sound of horses’ hooves pounding. I also appreciate the way you’ve linked to the larger picture despite your lack of experience with horse racing.
Very nice, Margaret. I always try to imagine myself as someone else, so in this situation, I may have thought of myself as stable hand or maybe the horse. I like how you bring us directly into the scene.