Bought my ticket
Bet on you
Wild lathered sprint
You were noble
Your nostrils flaring
To take in more air
I’ve never been lucky
Another horse won
You grew embittered
One day without cause
You went lame
Standing in your stable
Ignoring my entreaty
You could have been a prize winner
I expect you thought
Watching younger horses groomed for their chance
You had more fury than a church and none of the peace
When I lit a candle I prayed
You’d run away in the night
And I would be spared your decline
Into the caustic rough
A shadow of your former self
I remember when you started out
I didn’t look closely at your teeth
Grateful for the moment
Until time became an enemy
Your eyes hard like marbles
And if you’d really been a horse
You’d have thrown me
Intent on breaking
Something