Mustang

Tethered to madness
she will not drink
Provoked, prodded and ridiculed
she will not eat

Emotional blinders tightly strapped
darken her path
Precarious steps
she is lead away
The bit firmly in place, splits her lips
Reigns taunt
her neck strained
She must always look to the past

foam gathers
saliva drips
tongue swollen
eyes dead

The cowboy fools her with
sugar cubes
strokes of love
whispered words

her legs are weak
her back nearly broken
her resolve luke warm

she sleeps while standing
she sleeps while listening
she sleeps when copulating

The cowboy does not understand her
the stable is clean
her shoes a perfect fit
she groomed to perfection
her mane brushed neat

Whipping her does not work anymore
Her hide, thick with scars
Nerve endings no longer responsive to the sting
Her ears can not hear the words that are meant to manipulate her movements

Sometimes the cowboy takes from her…
comfort
affection
security
Sometimes the cowboy pulls the reigns too hard
she falls to the ground.

What goes unnoticed is the frayed rope that binds her

She looks lost
but she is deceiving
She cries freeing her spirit
One day
she will refuse to carry accusations, history or sadness
she will buck
she will run
she will be free

Photo Credit: /\lessandr/\ Flickr via Compfight cc