Friday, October 04, 2013

Big handsome bay




Saw the first V of geese this morning and that made me think of Wendell Berry's poem, my favorite, I think, and I realized it fits with the Big Handsome Bay photo. I post this every autumn and I'm happy it's time to post it again!

The Wild Geese

Horseback on Sunday morning,
harvest over, we taste persimmon
and wild grape, sharp sweet
of summer's end. In time's maze 
over fall fields, we name names
that went west from here, names
that rest on graves. We open
a persimmon seed to find the tree
that stands in promise,
pale, in the seed's marrow.
Geese appear high over us,
pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,
as in love or sleep, holds
them to their way, clear,
in the ancient faith: what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye
clear. What we need is here.


9 comments:

Grey Horse Matters said...

He is a handsome guy!

Calm, Forward, Straight said...

He looks great - sooo handsome! ;D

billie said...

He loves being on this side of the barn. :)

Matthew said...

Always the most handsome of them all!

Máire said...

I do like that poem - all we need is here. So true. And a very handsome bay.

billie said...

Matthew, so true.

billie said...

Maire, good to see you - I tried multiple times yesterday to comment on your pony and trailer post but could not get signed in on Wordpress to do so. It was such a beautiful story about Cloud and I love that he put his head in your "soft spot" and let his anxieties go. You are doing such good things with horses.

Máire said...

Billie, I think I have sorted out the gremlins in the comments section of my blog now. Thank you for your kind words. The horses teach me so much - about themselves, about me, about life.

billie said...

Oh, so glad you came back and saw them - I am still thinking about Cloud and how he worked through things with you. Wow.