Horse

In the days of big Creamsicles
I never had a tricycle—
I had an airplane and a car
and a Campbell’s soup can

infallible as a papal encyclical
simple and exciting as a new breakfast cereal

I got big enough for a two-wheeled bicycle

a green machine with a banana seat
I rode that bike till it fell apart

I’d run it like a horse down by the creek
galloping over hills and dales
and wrappers for sweets
rest it under a tree while I explored the filthy creek-bed
and skipped stones in a trickle of a stream

there was sugar in everything in those days
we didn’t know any better.
everything seemed bigger then
the days were longer, cooler

a kingdom for my horse

— PATRICK RAWLEY

(Originally published Christmas, 2001.)