Presidential primary races

Pawing at the starting gate

waiting for the bell

the snap of the gate

The run to rail

Huge hearts bursting

hooves pounding

down the stretch

a race to the front

Jockeys stand in stirrups

one horse stumbles

another one falls

the pile grows

Jockeys flung headlong

mud hoof prints on silk

blood on a mouth

red roses grow in an ear

Crowds gather at the rail

snap pictures and whisper

EMTs check jockeys who fell and

work on the one who was trampled

Grooms lead riderless horses

back to stables

veterinarians consult owners and

shoot the injured horses

Tomorrow, newspapers will

add up the cost of dead racing stock

and eulogize the mangled jockey

who is more valuable dead than alive

Who will clean grime from the saddle

place a jockey’s whip on the coffin

hand bloody silks to the family and

make the call to render the horses?

12-12-19