Horse Poems

The favorite poem for 2010,

Fifty Poems for Nico Wind,

is "Bareback Pantoum" by Cecilia Wolich.

So here we are at the number fifty (horse poems for Nico Wind)! I've said this will be my last year to produce the number of poems of the years my daughter has graced this earth with her presence, but Miss Nico Wind advised that I should finish out an even ten. And so I shall. I need 51 poems for the year 2011.

My favorite poem this year was "Bareback Pantoum" by Cecilia Woloch. I print it here because it has already been revealed online at http://home.earthlink.net/~pero/ceciliawoloch.html. I love the "Now!" quality of this poem; it is as if we are participants on the breathtaking, excitement of the ride with the children. It is also possible that I love the fact that this wonderful poem is written by a fellow teacher!

BAREBACK PANTOUM

One night, bareback and young, we rode through the woods
and the woods were on fire —
two borrowed horses, two local boys
whose waists we clung to, my sister and I

and the woods were on fire —
the pounding of hooves and the smell of smoke and the sharp sweat of boys
whose waists we clung to, my sister and I,
as we rode toward flame with the sky in our mouths —
the pounding of hooves and the smell of smoke and the sharp sweat of boys
and the heart saying: mine
as we rode toward flame with the sky in our mouths —
the trees turning gold, then crimson, white

and the heart saying: mine
of the wild, bright world;
the trees turning gold, then crimson, white
as they burned in the darkness, and we were girls

of the wild, bright world
of the woods near our house — we could turn, see the lights
as they burned in the darkness, and we were girls
so we rode just to ride

through the woods near our house — we could turn, see the lights
and the horses would carry us, carry us home
so we rode just to ride,
my sister and I, just to be close to that danger, desire

and the horses would carry us, carry us home
— two borrowed horses, two local boys,
my sister and I — just to be close to that danger, desire —

one night, bareback and young, we rode through the woods.

Cecilia Woloch

As published at: http://home.earthlink.net/~pero/ceciliawoloch.html

Muldoon, Paul (ed). Best American Poetry. New York: Houghton Mifflin. 2005.

2010 HORSE POEMS FOR NICO WIND

The titles, poets (and lyricists, for I have included some lyrics to horse songs and counted them as poetry) and publishing information I've been able to find for poems not available online are listed here. (Note that this is still work in progress, as you can plainly see.) If you'd like a copy of a particular poem, send me e-mail, and I'll send you a copy of the poem. I don't like to break copyright rules, and so only a few of the poems appear in their entirety on this site. On the other hand, those titles that are underlined may connect to a link that has the poem and other information about the poet. If a link does not work, I'd greatly appreciate hearing about that. Thanks!

1. All Shall Be Restored, Kay Ryan - Kay Ryan, "All Shall Be Restored" from Elephant Rocks.

          NY: Grove Atlantic, Inc. 1996

2. Art of Dying, William Agudelo

3. Astrophel and Stella XLIX, Sir Philip Sidney

4. Bareback Pantoum, Cecelia Woloch

5. Blue Horse of Morning, Rose Flint - "Blue Horse of Morning" Blue Horse of Morning.

          Bridgend, Wales: Senen Publishers. 1991.

6. A Country Boy in Winter, Sarah Orne Jewett

7. Cut Out For It, Kay Ryan

8. Death of Myth-Making The, Sylvia Plath

9. Dusk of Horses The, James Dickey

10. Each Step, Jane Hirshfield - "Each Step." The October Palace: Poems by Jane Hirshfield.

          NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. 1994.

11. Early Sunday Morning, Dan Masterson - In Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by

          Twentieth-Century American Art by Jan Greenberg, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.

12. For Nico Wind From Her Momma / Poppa, Anne Morin

13. Hope and Love, Jane Hirshfield - The Lives of the Heart. NY: HarpePerennial. 1997.

14. Horse and Tree, Rita Dove

15. Horse’s Adventure, Jason Bredle

16. Horses at Midnight Without a Moon, Jack Gilbert

17. Horses in Snow, Roberta Hill Whiteman

18. I Lost My Horse, Cecily Parks

19. I Love Them As I’m Defying Them, Monica Fambrough - from Poems About Horses:

          Everyman's Library Pocket Poets. NY: Alfred A. Knopf. 2009.

20. Imagining It, Kate Barnes

21. Kissing a Horse, Robert Wrigley

22. Lead Mare, Sue Wallis - from Graining the Mare: The Poetry of Ranch Women. Salt Lake

          City: Gibbs Smith Publisher. (date unknown)

23. The Legend of the Horseshoe, Johan Wolfgang von Goethe

24. Lost in Poem Light, Lynne Thompson

25. Love of Aged Horses The, Jane Hirshfield

26.  Mare and Newborn Foul, Jean Valentine

27.  Mountains! Three short Poems, Zedong, Mao

28. Mule Heart, Jane Hirshfield

29. Not Moving Even One Step, Jane Hirshfield - from The Lives of the Heart. NY:

          HarperPerennial. 1997.

30. Old Farmer’s New-Year Morning Salutation to his Old Mare, Maggie, Robert Burns

31. Old Red, C.D. (Slim) McCullough

32.  New England Boy's Song About Thansgiving Day (also known as Over the River and

          Through The Woods), Lydia Maria Child

33. Pawnee Dust, John Haines - from The Way West. The Hudson Review, Inc. 1996.

34. Pulling Into Morning, Sophie Cabot Black

35. Red Berries, Jane Hirshfield

36. Red Poppy, Tess Gallagher

37. Rescue, The, Robert Creeley

38. Riprap, Gary Snider

39. Rising The, Dorianne Laux

40. Smoking, Elton Glasser (for Seth!)

41. Strong Men, Riding Horses, Gwendolyn Brooks

42. Summer Night A, Kate Barnes

43. Taking Leave of a Friend, Li T’ai Po – Translation by Ezra Pound

44. Three Songs to Mark the Night, Judith Mountain Leaf Volbroth (Comanche) -

          Thunder-Root: Traditional and Contemporary Native American Verse. Los Angeles:

          UCLA American Indian Culture and Reserach Enter. 1978.

45. To the Gauchas of Salta, Sue Wallis - From Graining the Mare: The Poetry of Ranch

          Women. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith Publisher. (date unknown)

46. Truth The, Carl Phillips

47. Upon the Horse and His Rider, John Bunyan

48. Wisconsin Horse The, Simon J. Ortiz - Going for the Rain. NY: Harper and Row. 1976.

49. Words, Silvia Plath

50. (world’s shortest horse poem), Jane Hirshfield

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