A Lonely Brown Whiskered Horse Sestina | Teen Ink

A Lonely Brown Whiskered Horse Sestina

September 13, 2009
By Amanda deBerardinis GOLD, San Diego, California
Amanda deBerardinis GOLD, San Diego, California
18 articles 1 photo 0 comments

A lonely brown whiskered horse
Isolated in the barn’s dark silence
The only sound; the mud’s squelch
And the presence of a shooting star
Hovering above, creating a tranquil picture
Of a haven where there used to be ten

They all fell over dead, those ten
One by one until there remained only one horse
A strong and proud racehorse you can picture
With a chocolate brown mane, sitting in an austere silence
Where death’s presence left one star
To shine, its s causing the squelch

Of all other comforting sounds, the squelch
Portraying the absence, when those ten
Became one, forgotten, lone star
The grace and beauty of the horse
Transforming the dark, shadowy silence
Into the light of dawn’s picture

You can gaze at that picture
For all of eternity, the squelch
Of muddy hooves disturbing that silence
Near the bales of hay where there were ten
The night sounds of the calm horse
And potential of a future shining star

For now, the lost abandoned star
Stuck in a post card picture
Whimpering of the horse
Caused all else to be squelched
Before the lit-up fierce group of ten
Shone directly on one, alone facing the silence

The horse staring at the hay in silence
With the luminous glow of one star
Shining on the pathway to hope, Heaven’s ten
Angels guiding the horse, the picture
Of caked muddy hooves, the squelch
Of the other nine horse corpses

Buried deeply in the hay’s silence
Squelching the horses’ death and pain

In the picture of ten, now one single star


Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 1 comment.


on Sep. 2 2021 at 3:13 pm
Crazywolfiegirl2 PLATINUM, Kington, Other
26 articles 3 photos 284 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature—the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. —Rachel Carson

This is so sad, but beautifully written