Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Man in Black










Harnesses and hames hang 
with dusty reins 
tangled in single trees.

The surrey sings
 a red fringe on top song.

Horseshoes fit hooves 
as big as dinner plates 
for working horses 
 drafting with pride.

Yoked together
 beasts obey bit
attached to reins 
held gentle. 

Knowing hands feel 
current passing through 
leather ~ master and team ~ 
at one. 

Double trees, cutters, and sleighs
collect our storied past.

The springy buckboard
 dream made from scratch
 takes his lady easy
on Sunday drives slow.

Runners, wheels, and antique 
saddle frames restored 
preserve history.

Bells and rings attach 
when it's time
 to play dress up. 
Prancing, they put on a 
show for us and 
the man in black. 

I love the prowess of reinsmen. Garfield and Uncle Cliff have given us many hours of pleasure. The sleigh rides and hay rides on the wagon are epic memories. Thank you. 








7 comments:

katdish said...

Thank you, Kathleen for allowing us to come along for the ride.

Chris Bates said...

love this!

Anonymous said...

The surrey sings a red fringe~~~


i like the red fringe

L.L. Barkat said...

"The springy buckboard
dream made from scratch
takes his lady easy
on Sunday drives slow."

Oh, I liked that a lot.

Thank you for all your sweet comments lately. I appreciate them very much. And your Samuel Manashe poem. I have his book of poems, you know. Delightful. :)

Love you,
LL

Jennifer @ JenniferDukesLee.com said...

Oh, that red fringe! Such color. In the photo, yes, but in the writing, too.

Louise Gallagher said...

This is fabulous -- and the photos -- wow -- thanks for sharing it. I feel like I too have 'known' those gentle hands.

David Rupert said...

"beasts obey bit"

I like it! And those pictures are wonderful