Wild horses
(Unpublished)
as I wait for an oil change on my car
I watch the tv
in the mechanic’s waiting room
it shows a herd of wild horses
trotting and playing together
in some arid landscape
framed by bushy mountains
all sepia in soft shafts of sun
there are four chairs
in the waiting room
and three other people
sit beside me
and despite our efforts
to read or answer emails
or just not look at the tv
we look at the tv
and we see these wild horses
playing together
their manes brown and white
their joy and freedom
evident in their movement
and their lack
of any saddles or sorrows
I almost want to cry
I sense that the others do too
long have I wondered
if humans are in fact
the least developed species
left on this earth
that while we built cities
fly spaceships
come up with all these
great explanations
and categories
and means of subjugation
for all the living things
we alone
seem to lack the ability
to simply exist
as all other animals do
I sit at the mechanic
I waiting for an oil change
after a long week of work
and I watch wild horses
in some perfect place far away
and none of them seem sad
none of them have jobs
none of them still think
about things they said
in middle school
none of them wake with an alarm
they simply gallop
through the glinting dust
