some powerful, deadly creature

some powerful, deadly creature

i am gripping the huge horse
of my life with the thickest thighs
i can muster-- with no more choice of my steed
than a rodeo cowboy coming out of the shoot

  some draw a feeble old nag, and don't
  even need to lash their hand to the saddle,
  unthreatened, they ride without fear
  of being tossed and crushed beneath
  the iron hooves, and never
  hear the wild song of the unbroken, untamed
  brute roaring between their legs
  and through their veins.

but i,
am clinging to a fire-nostrilled beast,
a still-free and unwilling accomplice, constantly
spitting out the bit, determined to resist,
driven to doff the harness and return
to the open range.

so i am hanging on
for dear life, scared to death,
and having the time of my life,
with one defiant hand
reaching for the sky and
just one small lump
in my throat, enthralled;
compelled to focus
my attention, to feel the raw air
ebbing and flowing up and down
my throat, all memory of broken bones
and crippled buddies lost
in the sheer thrill of my blood
coursing and whooshing in my ears;

yes, the ride of one's lifetime: a contest
between time and myself, fought on the back
of a powerful, deadly creature.