Dressage

 

“Dressage” by Robert Joyner

 

rider and mount

regal bearing

engaged in an

elegant dialogue

formal attire

commands

glistening flanks

subtle artistry

airs above ground

lithe and light

through the jumps

stepping smartly

through forms

martial born

muscle memory

drawn upon

centuries turned

to a delicate

genteel ballet

barely tinged

by its ancestral

warriors charging

through battlefield

blades wearing

blood in their eyes

 

 

From my books Bullets from Bones and Legacies (vol. 1)

Troika

Russian Christmas Card Illustration

 

snowbanked lanes
rise and dip
winding winter
through woodlands
surrounding colonial
cottages glowing
with firelight warm
scent of woodsmoke
on air crackling crisp
nature’s breath
sweet as maple
sap ready to run
sound carries
remote country
distance soft echoes
find ears with a
gratified peace

as I peer through
my trees I imagine
three canter abreast
muted clops coming
toward me the whoosh
of a sleigh tinkling
bells growing closer
and waving to me
from their bundling
furs two beaming
cold-reddened faces
who hail me in Slavic
Zhivago and Lara
with Pasternak
tucked in behind
this day promises
grand conversation

 

 

From my book Bohemian Scents

Equus

Maquette Study
By Old Stile Press

(Regarding the play by Peter Shaffer)

tangled irrational
worship of godhead
a madness of manes
leaps from Homeric
dreams of pathology

hoofbeats of midnight
sleek flanks handsome
naked and glistening
gallop the portentous
path of the moon

immature ill-informed
boy-king passions
libido and liturgy
twisted together reins
fouled by psychosis

played out beneath
twelve equine
innocent eyes
misperceived in
dark mirrors of guilt

baleful judgment
deserving the strike
of a spike as the blind
violent price for their
view of the soul

Big Boy

“Bella”
Painting by Marcia Baldwin
From cuded.com

sixteen hands chestnut
of rippling brawn with
a black flowing mane

proud parade horse
responsive courageous
intelligent eyes

smart enough to put trust
in the man who sat
tall in his saddle

an elegant warrior pair
handsome hearted
both gentleman sires

the finest exemplars
each of his species
my papa his steed

(Big Boy was my father’s horse. During the 1930s, they served with distinction as a member unit of the Elite Essex Troop, 102nd Cavalry Regiment.)

Jade Horse

Antique Chinese Dark Jade Horse
Photo from liveauctioneers.com

transcendent symbol

adorned with a powerful grace

carries dreams on the wind

charm of princes and peasants

imbued with a lunar translucence

skilled consummate fingers of orient

coaxing the light from a stone

given down to your hands

wishing only your reverence

the warmth of your palms

irresistibly drawn to reach back

through the artisan ages

and find understanding

inanimate amulet wisdom

beheld in the carve and the curve

of its muscular splendor

its intricate brawn

feel it coming to life

touch its courage