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The Dancing Horses
aren't dancing.
The promoters rigged a giant multi-colored
balloon in the middle of the only patch
of earth
where anything might have danced.
And all around the bright balloon,
a wreath of used cars
for sale.
Polished muscles bound by training,
the horses stand useless
under August sun in a chrome parking lot,
waiting with the slow patience
of beasts,
on rusting iron hooves, to be
allowed to dance.
Social Fallacies
Hardy set us bickering in our lawn chairs
about the fundamental tragedy
of life. And then, that Dickens:
whatever to do about the unemployed,
the homeless? Prufrock reminded us about
the souls of footmen and the rights
of mermaids. This led to equal opportunity
for the living poor; which charity
to support this week, what Xeroxed fact-
sheet to believe; and where does money go
when it slips out of a full pocket?
Full of beautiful fictions,
the books slumped from our laps
as the sun slid down its golden
afternoon. Did I sense
a shiver in the roses? At last
we left our shadows on the lawn
and went inside without a word
to the speechless doorman
behind his archaic smile.
Taylor Graham Coal City Review editor Brian Daldorph calls this poet
" a meticulous wordsmith, writing often of her experiences as a rescue dog handler.
Every word of each poem is carefully considered, and yet there
is fluency and grace to her poems that sometimes seem like the mysterious language
of bird tracks in the snow. Taylor helps us to remember our links with the natural world."
Graham has published four collections, including Casualties ( Coal City Review) and Looking for Lost
( Hot Pepper Press), as well as poems in myriad publications. She is also on the editorial board of
The Acorn, a regional literary journal focusing on the western Sierra.
("Ten Poets to Watch", Writer's Digest April 2000)
Email: Taylor Graham
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