Looking Through Abby's Ears

Two poems and a special offer to new paid subscribers to Ring Around the Basin.

Looking Through Abby's Ears

Whispered wind

Pinion scent mingles

With spicy sage

Flies tease

Her pointed ears

Erect like gun sights

Alert and ready

As brush jumps

Jackrabbit

Cottontail

Lizard flits

Across the trail

Snakes through sand

Grit and granite

I focus between her ears

Note boulders where

Cougars and bears hide

The rock itself

Threatens her life

She shakes her head

Mane flails

Side to side

Bridle rings out

The only sound

I scan the desert

Through her ears

To see what she sees

Preparing for the rodeo.

When the Horses Come and Go                                           

They appear one day in spring                                                           

to a corral barely dry of snow                                                           

their arrival and departure                                                           

frame an arc of seasons filled

with aromas of dust, pinesap

and green mouldering earth.

We rake the paddocks clean

listen to the swallows fly

up and down the breezeway

the rhythmic chomp of molars

grinding hay at sunset

eyes roll closed at end of rustic day

after day.

We watch every year as the Barn Rats grow

from cherubs to sleek young women

working through the ranks

from pony attendant to guide.

My daughter casts me a sassy grin

as she leads a line of tourists

toward Bear Meadows.

Her mare and I both lame and limping

sprinkles of grey turning us to roans

push ourselves around the pony trail.

Even though we can no longer follow

the trails across the mountain

we can still trace the rituals of summer.

Full moons float in alpenglow

four times before breezes chill

and frost mane and wither.

The morning of the horses’ leaving

announces Fall.

Despite the golden mantle upon the marsh

dark storms brood ready

to cover the corral above the rail tops

the smells and sounds of summer buried

under deep fields of snow.                                                           

My daughter leaves for college,                                                   

My man leaves for a job in the city,                                                           

I tend the fire and shovel snow                                                                       

watch the drifts pile around the house                       

press the seams of quilt squares

and pull another book from the shelf.

This is the title poem of my book, When the Horses Come and Go, available as a kindle book on Amazon.

The next six new paid subscribers to Ring Around the Basin will receive a signed copy of the perfect binding version of When the Horses Come and Go.

A couple of reviews on Amazon of this poetry book.

Poetry in Motion

Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2012

Poetry is not usually something I read, but this book by Sue Cauhape is extra ordinary. Even though it is a very thin book, the poetry is touching. The relationship between horses and people blend well and Sue has captured the moment in slow motion. Two of my favorite poems are `Gary' and `Relic'. Very unusual poetry that you will remember for a long time. -- Gwyn Ramsey

Brings me back to fond memories

Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2017

This book brings me back to my childhood as an urban kid growing up horse crazy! Each verse makes me smile. Sue has an amazing insight into horseflesh, and the beautiful strands that attach them to our human lives. Highly recommended to anyone with a love for horses -- Diane G

If you enjoyed these poems, feel free to check out more in the Ring Around the Basin Archive.