Tamed by the bridle, led astray
Where have their wild spirits gone?
Galloping in the wind
Manes flying free. Capturing the wind.
Yet, here they prance. So pretty with their braided bows
And dead eyes. Sorrow buried beneath the surface.
It’s hard to believe they once ran across the prairies
Their feet shaking the earth, thunder in the valley.
Mares with their stallions, together claiming the savanna
Stride by stride together so proud and regal.
But these, these poor creatures, less than mules
Unable and unwilling to carry a burden, much less gallop through fields.
This is what has become of the once proud and majestic
Now just proud and braying, no thought to what they’re saying.
Manes brushed, heels shod, they kick up their legs
Tails swish. Look at me they seem to say. But our eyes shy away.
Once horses roamed these fields. Once majestic beasts strode the land.
They do no longer. All that roams these fields are the lost spirits of those who once galloped.
This is from a prompt from dVerse. The prompt was horses. Enjoy!
The Author Stew webpage - Stories & Poems 
What a powerful poem and that last stanza is the sad truth.
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Your writing has delivered the sobering and sad true legacy of what it means to contain and tame the wild. So much is lost.
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There is something to be said for taming and “civilizing” but there is a cost. Always a cost. Thank you for reading. 🙂
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Now that humans have other forms of horse power, it would be wonderful to see horses roaming in herds again, ‘Manes flying free. Capturing the wind.’
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I don’t expect to see it but it would be nice. Thank you for reading. 🙂
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A wonderful poem, Stew, powerfully descriptive. How vividly you draw the contrast between tamed and performing horses to those wild and free! I especially loved these lines that drive your point home to such great effect:
This is what has become of the once proud and majestic
Now just proud and braying, no thought to what they’re saying.
Such lines make us wonder what is lost and what is gained.
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Thank you so much Dora. I think the difference in wild and free and tamed and performing is a stark contrast in horses but can be applied to so much more than horses as well. I’m glad you enjoyed.
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