Dan Rattelle

The Mares

Why is it when I dream of hell I dream 
of horses? They smolder in the cold fire
of morning frost; beyond the pale, a harem
of broken mares unled by bit or bridle.
 
This one flees the shadow of a whip,
braid her mane, touch her like a friend.
Another, risen from a final sleep, limps
and she can only nod her precious head.
 
Out in the field they each consume their grief
like it was joy and with an equal thirst.
I like their eyes because I see myself
as I am seen, a brittle vision pierced,
 
grotesque against the rack of their inspection.
Their judgment is sure. Their doom inscrutable,
Their gaze is kindled with the lamps of heaven.
Face them, walk backward step by step to hell.

Dan Rattelle is the author of the book Painting Over the Growth Chart (Wiseblood, 2024). He holds an MFA from the University of St Andrews and lives in Western Massachusetts.