Dark clouds gather, looming huge and gray, Rain cold-needles my face, The wind whips me into exhilaration. A rumbling starts down the track. Thunder? No, not thunder. It’s flint-and-steel hooves, striking out a lightning rhythm. Tap tap, Tap tap, Tap tap. Heads high, ears back— The rain stings them, too. Yet I see them charge undaunted, For they know the storm is theirs. The track is a dance floor, With the wind for music. They know the steps. Tap tap, Tap tap, Tap tap. Flecked with sweat and rain, Hot and cold. The voice of the whip drives them on. They stretch out, bodies glistening. My heartbeat joins with theirs, As they speed straight under the wire, Singing the song of the harness horse. Tap tap, Tap tap, Tap tap. Mary Woods, 12Frankfort, Illinois
Poetry-Animals
Curiosity
I would spend those bored hours, Peering through the wire mesh screen, Waiting for something worthy of a smile. He zoomed, an invisible blur, Until he hovered at my window, His ruby throat aflame, And his wings a cloudy shimmer. His eyes waiting, Holding mine. It seemed for hours, As the hand ticked slowly, softly in the corner, We watched, wary, Until a small green streak, He disappeared. Sarah Wood, 12Seattle, Washington
The Mighty Jump
This was it. I could see it in front of me. The stream was ending. I had to jump. The strong current was blinding. The mischievous drops of water were going against me. I picked up speed. Flapping my tail fin one hundred times a second. Propelling forward faster and faster. I jumped. Elegantly soaring through the air. Slipping right through a grizzly bear’s jaws. I could see the open sky above, and the rushing water crashing below. Then just like that, I gracefully slipped through the quiet and frigid waters. My adventure was over. Ella Rogers, 10Lake Forest Park,Washington
