EQUILIBRIUM (a tribute to racehorses) ©JewelRainbow

Up and off to work before dawn, the first to see the rising sun

Each day finds you already saddled up and ready for your run

Or returning from a pitch-black gallop so your fleet secret is kept

By your rider, trainer and timekeeper who plan to place a hefty bet

Crouched along your strong neck I see the once-real world

Around us framed between your velvet ears like a movie set

Now appear to melt away at the seams and fade into dreams
As you charge on, carrying me into the future hopeful as a bride

Swallowing ground each moment with your massive, earnest stride

Embodying the courage it takes to stay strong on life’s wild ride

The power of your mighty heart easily overwhelms my small fears

And keeps me focused straight ahead, not looking back in tears

Alone along an almost-empty beach, in pairs across lonely windswept downs, or once around a busy training track in town

I feel the rush of cool air in my face and the thrill of the race

As you teach my instincts, by osmosis, to seek balance
while yearning for transcendence

While the heat of your breath, and its depth, reflects the vital place
Of passion in striving to outpace the shadows of our dark imaginings

As we pound the ground yet float so free and light, almost in flight

Borne up by just the air sublime, like Pegasus in an ancient time