Once a proud horse galloping across waving grasses
deepest green turned blue
the sun warming and nourishing her senses
she belonged among the warm winds and soft rains.
Her home was free.
Her whole being was boundless.
She found herself swept in the flood
as the blue burnished darker and
grass turned into tangling seaweed.
Her whole being was bound, yet
she learned to pivot and twist.
The tides caressed warm waves around her
and she became a seahorse.
Proud now with a majesty born of forced then determined transformation,
she glides through the water’s depths.
I loved the feeling and imagery at the start. When it started to turn dark, I thought “Oh, no” and started to be sad for her. But then you surprised me. I really love the beauty in the transformation of the last few lines. Lovely poem. 🙂
Thank you, Fiona. This is actually part of how I see myself. Following my stay in ICU after a ruptured brain aneurysm, I began rehabilitation therapy. I was shocked when I saw an image that I proudly recognized and called “horsefish” but was gently told I needed to say, “seahorse.” I had so many other bigger challenges those days of therapy, but this was the incident that struck me most. It’s hard to realize life has forever changed, but this is still the only life I have right now. Forced then determined transformation I hope will soon become gracious. I’m on my way to gliding through the water. . . .