Traveling Through Resistance

Maery Rose

Canvas
Stark white
Untouched
My horse looks dubious
Perhaps there’s a reason
This place lies untraveled
Powder over ice?
Frozen ridges to trip on?
Who’s to know?
He isn’t the one
Who wants to find out
But I ask
And he moves
Does he trust my judgment?
While I do not?
So far so good
So I press harder
Why walk if you can trot?
No change
I add a cluck
Lean into a gathering
A lift of muscle
And we move
Cautiously, then stronger
Trotting a line
Then a circle
One direction, then another
I laugh
Feeling the bounce
Of high-stepping knees
Bringing hoof over snow
The extra effort it takes
To travel
                   through 
                                    resistance
Luke’s breathe comes
In a hhu, hhu, hhu
Ghost air . . .
I love this feeling
That comes with
Fresh, unbroken snow
When we stop
I bend to lay
Cheek to warm neck
Glad I’ve braved the cold
Kicking free of stirrups
Sliding slowly down a shoulder
To snow
That swallows feet whole
And binds me to a day I’ll remember

*** Cross-posted on Vision and Verb ***

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