DEVOUT POSTULANT
She gazes at soft subservient eyes,
and gently extends a hand towards his muzzle,
while whispering, “What an elegant colt”
His ears perk as he rubs his head
against her longing adolescent face.
He is ready to serve.
She slips a toe of a well polished
boot into the stirrup, grasping
the saddle’s horn over the swell.
Then hoists her right leg around
lustrous loins, planting herself
snuggly on the well-worn saddle.
In advance of a cathartic ride, she
humbles her body towards his crown,
and he proceeds.
One step at a time; first–a
controlled three-beat canter–
three hoofbeats per stride.
Restless prurient thighs
squeeze his ribs, edging the pace
to accelerate to a four-beat gallop.
The reigns of his bridle
are wound around each
of her ring fingers.
She now controls sinewy ribs,
and with bridal authority focuses on
an experience only he can provide.
He takes a giant inhale, widening
her thighs—well aware of how high
she relishes the rise and the fall.
Dutifully he gallops, like the
lead dog in an Iditarod race,
aiming to please the Gods.
Or, like a red-hot locomotive engine,
fed with fresh coal in the hollow of its
furnace, striving for full throttle.
As the organic rhythm builds,
she crouches over sizzling cinders,
stoking tinders of a ravenous fire.
The pounding of hooves induces a flush,
forcing the aroused atmosphere to discharge–
first thunder, then nourishing rain.
The ground below his hoofs, moist
with dew and soaked roots,
release involuntary quivers.
Their effort toward transcendence,
feeds a ravenous universe, and
rewarded with primordial calm.
The vivid purples, blues, and lavenders
of the pasture have been restored–
now the Gods are gratified.
This is the unspoken communion
between a fevered equestrian
and her servile equine.
That night he stood transfixed,
meditating in a tack room, where halters,
bridles, saddles, and whips are stored.
Surrounded by holy monastic silence,
he contemplates his service as a
newly consecrated postulant.
Above, the firmament pulses with stars,
donning white robes, in concert proclaiming
hosannas as to how the world’s bliss is restored.
— © Abraham Menashe