The Horse Of Sorrow

Ah yes, I remember the time
Laid on a blanket with pretty pattern swirls
A fiery sword opening my chest
And snow landing so heavily upon the sand
That we couldn't hear the waves
Eating peaches on the roof
And throwing the pips at the horses hoofs
Maybe there would be an orchard to hide in one day
One day there would be a million maybe's
growing on trees being pulled up from wells
Catching trains and travelling through the foggy night
The moment you paused I fingered the harp of victory
I had my face cast in plaster and heard the tailor at my door
It's a simple room but I am glad I took it
With the frogs singing, I kick at the dandelion
With the cloud below me I flew to my city
And I looked out my window wondering if the eagle still nested
Or if the piano was still out of tune
My grandmother she has a photo
Of a baobab holding water in a desert
My rules were all broken by the carriage I saw
The horse men with their sorrow pounded at the gate
I never cared for the balding taxi drivers
And I noticed as the swimming hole was filled with flowers
That the future would be available for the men
Who had an eagle and a flaming sword
Or at least a horse of sorrow
To carry the ladies who were trapped in marshes
Time here seems like a bass line
Heavy and thumping
But my legs are spread and high
As though I could give birth
But instead I feel the explorer search for the baobab
The source of life
And the flaming sword burns my chest
breaks open my ribcage
And a thousand foreign sparrows fly into my room
Singing and winging and clawing at each other
Fighting to peck at my raw heart
Chiselling away at my arteries and muscles
Until it is in the shape of an owl sitting on a stump
With eyes staring out
In suprise and in awe
In shock
For the earth is not what I assumed it would be
And it makes me bite my bottom lip
It makes me swallow my tongue
And I will ride my horse of sorrow
Onto the shore where the snow meets the water
The owl will fly to its baobab
And the Peaches will grow into a cobblestone orchard