Friday's Poem for my Lenten Post a Poem a Day Challenge

Riding Lesson by Henry Taylor | The Writer's Almanac with Garrison Keillor


"Riding Lesson," by Henry Taylor from An Afternoon of Pocket Billiards (University of Utah Press).

 

Riding Lesson

I learned two things
from an early riding teacher.
He held a nervous filly
in one hand and gestured
with the other, saying "Listen.
Keep one leg on one side,
the other leg on the other side,
and your mind in the middle."

 

He turned and mounted.
She took two steps, then left
the ground, I thought for good.
But she came down hard, humped
her back, swallowed her neck,
and threw her rider as you'd
throw a rock. He rose, brushed
his pants and caught his breath,
and said, "See that's the way
to do it When you see
they're gonna throw you, get off."