the pile-up
the 3 horse clipped the heels of
the 7, they both went down and
the 9 stumbled over them,
jocks rolling, horses’ legs flung
skyward.
then the jocks were up, stunned
but all right
and I watched the horses
rising in the late afternoon,
had not been a good day for
me
and I watched the horses rise,
please, I said inside, no broken
legs!
and the 9 was all right
and the 7
and the 3 also,
they were walking,
the horses didn’t need the van,
the jocks didn’t need the
ambulance.
what a beautiful day,
what a perfectly beautiful day,
what a wondrously lovely
day—
winners in a
single race.
Other works by Charles Bukowski...
