The First Time

 

The first time, and about time, you shoe a horse,

You approach with feelings of misgiving, of trepidation,

Of cocksureness, and a justifiable sense of naiveté.

The horse, used to be shod, shares none of this.

 

When the job is half done you wonder at the fuss,

Why, it ain't half so hard as they make out—

Then as quickly regret your hubris as you feel

The weight of that horse, and buckle down to it.

 

As sure as sure can be, it happens that the horse

Grows weary of his three-legged stance, shifts its weight,

And you misfire, hammering a nail through the hoof

Into your middle finger, hitting bone; but in the end, 

 

With a kink in your back and your finger wrapped

In a dirty bandana, you gather your tools, watch

Your horse trot off to pasture, a little tender of foot,

and allow–no, it ain't half so bad as they make out. 

 





Poetry by jim The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 179 times
Written on 2017-12-28 at 16:43

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shells
I love this, the pain, the thinking, the horse, the first time, it all applies to many things that are "first times" in life all that angst and then. I remember similar encounters as a nurse.
2017-12-30


Bibek The PoetBay support member heart!
I like the humor in it.
2017-12-29


Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
This is a finely crafted poem, my friend, and, as you know, craftsmanship is what most impresses me. I'm impressed.
2017-12-29



I love this! I have ridden horses for most of my life, even owned some, but shamefully I have never nailed a shoe into one. I always took them in for all that maintenance. You bring whatever you have done to life with your words. I enjoyed this very much!
Ashe
2017-12-28


Rob Graber
Nobody but you could make it a pleasure to read about pounding a nail into one's finger bone!
2017-12-28