CASPER
THE FRIENDLY GHOST
High Horses
Way up there, so high and well fed
they seem to be gods
or at least ridden by gods,
the high horses walk—so well bred
little disturbs them. Sedately,
they show off their steps,
canter right, canter left ... perhaps
a brief trot, the perfect lifting of one knee
after another, and then
that exquisite gallop, that arrogance
of the totally convinced,
that disdain.... Then down
off the high horses
come their riders at last,
little men of the past,
clad in bright silken colors.
Way up there, so high and well fed
they seem to be gods
or at least ridden by gods,
the high horses walk—so well bred
little disturbs them. Sedately,
they show off their steps,
canter right, canter left ... perhaps
a brief trot, the perfect lifting of one knee
after another, and then
that exquisite gallop, that arrogance
of the totally convinced,
that disdain.... Then down
off the high horses
come their riders at last,
little men of the past,
clad in bright silken colors.