Friday, April 12, 2013

Have a Good Day, etc., Period


Back from my morning walk, I think 
To stop and have a chat with Athena, 
The filly who grazes now and then 
In the empty lot next to our house. 

Tired of anything resembling pedestrian
Human communication, I try my best 
Using gestures and words full of guile 
To win her deepest equine attention. 

With a snort I think must be full of vexation, 
She throws back her head so as to throw me 
A glance that makes it perfectly clear 
She wants nothing to do with anything 

That smacks of polite conversation. 


NB: άλογος (adj.) = without (logical) speech—το άλογο (neut. noun), the Greek word for ‘horse’. 

4 comments:

  1. But you can never tell. There are forms of communication that go beyond and beneath words (and logic -- and politeness!).

    "When his horse died, it was as if he'd died too".

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  2. You and Kirk are right on here, Tom--that Whiskey was some horse, wasn't he? I want to say "almost human" but on second thoughts that would be insulting his intelligence.

    BTW, I spent 18 months of my two-year hitch with Uncle Sam in that part of the country.

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  3. I'm always a little in awe of the houyhnhnms when I see them. Never quite sure how to address them myself.

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  4. Formidable creatures they they are, perhaps it's this quality that inspires awe.

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