FOUR HORSES AHEAD OF THE GAME
Berry refreshed, berry stained, berry smores
friends behind earflops and bushnoses and stamped feet
Bearing cleareyed shepherd crook above resting snores
forming a watchguard over Littly and Weasley and Henny’s cleat
Boasting a fullout falldown sleep even Croaky-Moaky scores
fulsome for rest in dreams of worms with wings yet to meet.
All stretchy-fetchy into minding mists our friends abide,
waving vapors of scents and goldens and starries so far
from all they have known before the Babe, before the tide
of peace and goodwill and crashing angel tunes at the bar
of their souls waiting to breath a more distant side
from any ribs they had yet to bet beside robe with no mar.
Now friendly wendly muchly clutchly all did sleep
Not hearing or smelling at first any horsing clomps
Now mere smugging wispy wanding horsing keep
Not quite in dreams, not quite in peeps, just stomps
Now thrumming inside heads bearing four colors’ creep
Not so foretold mere weaving of wish for romps.
But hold! behold! no scold! all rolled
As one to kneel then stand then mend the dawn
But for scratchings and stretchings now scold
Old Shepherd and BushyGirl to shush these spawn
As one then t’other leaned looking smells so bold
Old Croaker could not bigger to meet GreyHorse drawn.
“What ho! What heigh! So nigh! So spry!
“Come you now out from rocks,out from sleep
“What show? What blow?What Need-To-Bye?
“Come into circle, Come into us, Come break with keep”
Thus friends fulsome step to offer berry pie,
Thus friends bending to east GreyHorse did leap.
Now on down rocks, now on past stream so oiled
With new found mount to carry some load
Now on across sand, past bent tree enfoiled
With roostery crows and blustery flies en road
Now Henny and Weasley trot by limbs uncoiled
With spring and bounce to jounce a new code.
Yes, a new code, a new mould of form each soul did take
On eastward, on valeward from that old garden
Where once a path walked by evening’s cool lake,
On boastward did friends now march in pardon
Where drying winds did push more east to make
On scratched paths for hooves sent from stardon.
Soon scents of herds and sounds of scolders
Did fall on crittery heads and folksing eary fears
Soon creaks of carts and offaling potmolders
Did fall on flopped ears and stalking rears
Soon dustings so thick and mustings from boulders
Did blind the Crook and the Croaker in tears.
“Oh, what now? what bow? what row we must make?
“Oh, come now, side now, bide now, hide now!
“Oh, skippeling, snippeling, trippeling forsake!
“Oh, come now, ride now, quick now, fly now:
“Oh, forsooth and forsake now we trail to make
“Oh, stretch thou souls now, catch thy hearts now!”
So did friends go out by a different way to meet the East in New Light.
granbee 