Christine Shadle
Home on the Mantel
He looks like he just lumbered to a stop on a
buffalo nickel,
that thick shoulder hump making it hard for him
to see exactly where his hooves are.
Doesn't seem he could lower his head even to eat
dusty grass, tumbleweeds, sage
and now he's just staring at flowered wallpaper
wondering where his friends went.
Forget the images of thundering herds on the plains
shot at by cowboys and Indians.
He’s used to eating prickly pear that grows on Catalina Island,
the only place where they still roam.
The redwood grain follows the curves of his
head, hump, shoulders,
insignificant hips and tail,
colours him reddish–brown.
With the wide grain and pale wooden horns
he stands out
from the crystal, the gilded clock, the white carved mantel.
My hand follows the wood.
buffalo nickel,
that thick shoulder hump making it hard for him
to see exactly where his hooves are.
Doesn't seem he could lower his head even to eat
dusty grass, tumbleweeds, sage
and now he's just staring at flowered wallpaper
wondering where his friends went.
Forget the images of thundering herds on the plains
shot at by cowboys and Indians.
He’s used to eating prickly pear that grows on Catalina Island,
the only place where they still roam.
The redwood grain follows the curves of his
head, hump, shoulders,
insignificant hips and tail,
colours him reddish–brown.
With the wide grain and pale wooden horns
he stands out
from the crystal, the gilded clock, the white carved mantel.
My hand follows the wood.
Page(s) 57
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