CASPER
THE FRIENDLY GHOST
The horse's head looks more like the butt end
of an oar, squared off and wooden the way an animal's is not.
Its mane is mangy; the mouth toothy; one white eye is wild.
The legs tangle at wrong angles and the body seems short.
This was a horse to shoot, but I sharpened my pencil instead,
and returned to my seat. Astride the beast, with hands like clouds
and checkered shirt, is a boy—not whipping his horse,
battering its belly with shiny spurs, or scouting the dusty plains
and bluffs for a good leap-off place. He's smiling terribly.
of an oar, squared off and wooden the way an animal's is not.
Its mane is mangy; the mouth toothy; one white eye is wild.
The legs tangle at wrong angles and the body seems short.
This was a horse to shoot, but I sharpened my pencil instead,
and returned to my seat. Astride the beast, with hands like clouds
and checkered shirt, is a boy—not whipping his horse,
battering its belly with shiny spurs, or scouting the dusty plains
and bluffs for a good leap-off place. He's smiling terribly.