Fragment- horses

Dust curls around the horses’ hooves in small puffs, reminding me of wood fires. A horse snorts, oiled leather groans. Water tumbles over stones like a child’s laughter. The horses pull at the sparse dry grasses, keeping an eye out for the next tuft. A rib, bleached pale by the succession of suns, records a passage of time. A woodpecker breaks the arid silence with a gentle knocking. In the distance, thundering grasses.

An empty can rattles across Main Street. The dog, half-buried in the trash, doesn’t hear me coming. I slip in and hide between the wall and doorway. The brick leaves a ragged imprint in my hand.

11/82? Added 2020