Two Horses and a Dog

　　 by James Galvin

　　 Without external reference，

　　 The world presents itself

　　 In perfect clarity.

　　 Wherewithal， arrested moments，

　　 The throes of demystification，

　　 Morality as nothing more

　　 Than humility and honesty， a salty measure.

　　 Then it was a cold snap，

　　 Weather turned lethal so it was easier

　　 To feel affinity

　　 With lodgepole stands， rifted aspens，

　　 And grim， tenacious sage.

　　 History accelerates till it misses the turns.

　　 Wars are shorter now

　　 Just to fit into it.

　　 One day you know you are no longer young

　　 Because you've stopped loving your own desperation.

　　 You change life to loneliness in your mind

　　 And， you know， you need to change it back.

　　 Statistics show that

　　 One in every five

　　 Women

　　 Is essential to my survival.

　　 My daughter asks how wide is lightning.

　　 That depends， but I don't know on what.

　　 Probably the dimension of inner hugeness，

　　 As in a speck of dirt.

　　 It was an honor to suffer humiliation and refusal.

　　 Shame was an honor.

　　 It was an honor to freeze your ass horseback

　　 In the year's first blizzard，

　　 Looking for strays that never materialized.

　　 It was an honor to break apart against this，

　　 An honor to fail at well-being

　　 As the high peaks accepted the first snow -

　　 A sigh of relief.

　　 Time stands still

　　 And we things go whizzing past it，

　　 Queasy and lonely，

　　 Wearing dogtags with scripture on them.

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