To Ride a Sweet Horse

(published in Plainsongs, Fall 2006)

According to Jung
Pain is the fastest horse to wholeness
Implying of course
Other horses are on the track.

 I choose to ride                                      
A mare fed molasses
With bells and blossoms
Entwined in her mane.

Winning is not
My primary aim
A slow lingering pace
Will suffice all the same.