zoo horses 

they used to have a herd here.
ten or twenty creatures. 
wooden fence. the valley's eyelashes. 
when a storm came through 
a god would pull the horses into the sky
to run & make thunder. the last two 
are slow now. they stand far away
from where people can come 
to stare. take pictures. squint.
they are keepers of a threshold between
dirt & rain. body & blood.
they tell each other the same
stories from their previous lives.
stepping through clouds. hoof & lightning. 
the fields that still bear milkweed flowers
this time of year. the sun has become
more merciless as they've aged.
i want to join them. to kneel down
& feel my hooves arrive clapping. 
i wonder if they wait till we are all gone.
gates closed. yolky sun sleep. then,
maybe they run. never racing, always
pounding on the door of a next life.
one without a fence or a sky. one where
we are both bright & boneless.
we'll keep our manes. one lifts her head
to me. a flick of the tail. a light breeze.
hush of the branches still full of leaves.