John Grey - Issue 36

John Grey is an Australian poet, US resident, recently published in Midnight Mind, Novus and Calliope. Latest books, “Bittersweet”, “Subject Matters” and “Between Two Fires” are available through Amazon. Work upcoming in Levitate, White Wall Review and Willow Review.

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THE DAY OF A HORSEWOMAN

This is a woman

who mucks stalls half the day,

who comes to 

the house at sunset

smelling of horseshit.

But she’s also a woman

who saddles those steeds,

so her odor is comfortably 

drenched in warm leather.

Not forgetting the way

she rides, 

around the track,

or over the fields.

So her perfume incorporates

the smell of sweaty roan flanks.

But with the tang of grace,

of speed.

And this is a woman

who rubs horses down,

runs fingers through mains,

rubs under chin,

says her farewells 

with soft words 

and sugar-cubes,

This is a woman 

whose night begins

with her taking a shower.

After that, 

there’s one more 

creature to attend to.

It’s her man

in his stall.

A CEMETERY VISIT

I know that real flowers

will be withered before the weekend

and that the plastic variety

could reign colorful for years.

And yet, when I kneel 

before the urn, these are

true roses in my hand, freshly picked, 

bright red and white and yellow.

I honor brief lives with brief life,

not by brandishing something 

indestructible but devoid of 

anything organic.

I’ll be back in a week or two

to replenish these radiant blooms.

Those who leave plastic

forgo their need to be here.