*

My body is burning. I do not have a house. Because I am a horse, I am aglow with feeling all the time.

My body is burning. I am the reincarnation of Walt Whitman and I am on fire. I eat Aristotle’s universe constantly, and I will not take no for an answer. I am a very good horse. I am also a very good man.

*

Before I was a man, I was a girl. Someone on TV once wondered in a game show, “Is a girl really a man? How do boys become boys? How do boys become men?” Did you know that I love Friedrich Nietzsche?

Friedrich Nietzsche was a very tall man, and he used to eat of the sun on all his holidays, including when he was in his cage. I love cages. I am a bird in a cage. I am such a good horse that my bitterest pill cannot keep me from burning in my cage. I already told you, I do not have a house.

*

I sometimes read about hope and think, “What can I hope for?” Am I allowed to hope? It’s all like a big fight, me and the other horses. Sometimes we kick at each other in our sleep and eat donuts. Other times, we play with fire and eat fire with the dragons that used to be part of our dreams. We are always dreaming, we horses. That’s okay, though, because I am a good horse. And I live in a very narrow world.

*

Before I set myself on fire, I usually do a little dance. I twist and turn all over the place, because I am a good horse. If you knew my innermost intestines, you would love me. I am so sweet and I like to chew gum.

It’s okay if you don’t understand me, really. I am the sweetest horse you have never met, and I plan on staying that way. I am so good, really. I have never done anything to hurt anyone. I love reading about the Buddha and the way people can forget about turtles and things like that. I am so fixed in these thoughts that my life is beautiful all the time, and I never feel anything but the positive things. I am a good horse.

*

I have never loved anyone more than I love other horses. Horses are the best. They are so good.

Everyone I know is a good horse, but I live in a small box.

Everyone I ever see is made of ghosts, but I am a good horse. And I do not have a house.

*

I’ve been a girl, I’ve been a boy or two, and I’ve been a good horse. I think I should probably stop growing and developing into my highest being. But just try to stop me!

*

I am such a good horse that I just know the revolution will come. It will come in my mouth.
I will eat of the fruits of the naked trees. I never wear clothes. That’s how good of a horse I am.

*

Perhaps my horseness troubles my audience. I love to trouble my audience. I am only interested in causing other people trouble. That’s my horseness at its finest, shining through, making my audience think that I am the greatest performing genius ever to walk the earth, all because I am very very good. I am the best horse, and the other horses, especially the ponies I know, are the cutest things to be friends with me. I only love to read poems about the Buddha, play games with people, and I especially love chess. I am such a good horse, that I am burning with fever.

*

My horseness troubles my audience because I am full of spirit. I have never not been full of spirit. I like formal things, and I believe the rapture will happen before I die. I will probably, in truth, never die. Some animals have to live forever, and my own failures attest to the fact of the matter. I am so good, that I know that in the future, everyone will have the same color hair as me. My hair is my best quality, and it is glowing all the time in my hometown of New York City. I live with the other horses there, where there is only so much love to go around. I am all love. I believe in not standing up for myself, in making use of other people I meet, and in being honest with the world. I am always angry at everyone who does not believe that the revolution will come in my mouth. The revolution comes in my mouth like music. That’s what makes me a man.

*

Before I was a horse, I was a kite. See you later, bye bye! It was great being a kite. I flew to the moon as a kite, and the class war was raged with me at its helm. I don’t really believe in anything but my horseness. I am always horsing around. I think being serious is for the other people in the world, and I don’t really care about anything. Did I mention I am blind?

*

As a horse, I build everything, and I never take anything apart. That’s what good men do! I am always getting my marching orders, and I repeat everything at least a few times. That’s what good men do! If you’ve ever known a good soldier, you have known me. I am not just one soldier, I am many soldiers. I am going to take over the world with my strength. That’s what makes me a good horse, and the perfect incarnation of beauty and love, as radiant as a star in the bright morning sky.

*

I am a horse, and I am also a balloon. My gifts are many. I receive my gifts from the sky. Everyone knows me, because I am a great performer. I do not have a house.

*

Every day I wake up among the animals. I eat the animals’ food. I become the living animals. I am so alive that I have nothing to fear. Because of this, I have no friends. No one loves a good horse. But I’ll show them!

*

I am a horse, but I am also a process. My process is very deep. I go so deep that I can’t come up for air. Do you see the night sky? I love museums, too. Museums are the best horses, and I am a mirror for them. I pretend that museums are where my lovers are. I have no body. I am all spirit. I never eat. I only eat air.

*

I never wear clothes, and when I do wear clothes, I don’t wear pants. Pants? Who needs them? I prefer to wear the best of clothes when I can. It seems important that a good horse should have a fine collection of linen things to wear. I don’t need money for these things. I am a horse, and I am also a klepto. I like to borrow and take. I never return favors. I am a very good horse.

*

Because I am a horse, I am drowning in meaning. I am also a happy drinker. Why not drink a twelve-pack of beer all by myself? It will only make me a better horse. There’s no reason not to do things just because people in authority say they’re wrong, right? It’s better to be a good horse than to obey the law. So onward horses! May you never fall down!

*

Because I am a good horse, I often march around, getting my marching orders from anyone who asks me to jump. How high? I say. How high do you want me to jump? It’s important to be the kind of horse who is able to follow ALL orders from renegades. I’ve always been an outlaw, and I love America so much it hurts. I think I am going to crawl into a foxhole and just keep loving America even more and more every day, and remember, there will be no darkness.

*

Because I am a horse, I wear many rings. I am a ring. I am a ring of fire. I am always wearing the same ring that my lovers gave to me. Did you know I have a blog? Sometimes I like to wear my blog like a rose. I eat my lovers for dinner at times, too. I am a horse, a good horse. No one will ever fine me where I hide. I am a lonely horse, but I promise that I will never give in.

*

All horses love music. Sometimes, I play my guitar by myself: air guitar! I call it. Someone once said that I look like a moldy peach. I love being a moldy peach. It is the most satisfying appearance I can think of. I do not really have an appearance, though. Sometimes, I wear underwear to the mall. Someone could call me a good horse in person! It is so exciting. I hope you will be part of my long journey.

*

Because I am a good horse, I have never been anything in my life. I like to sit beside a field with my lovers, full of hair and light. I believe in the Buddha. The Buddha is my best friend, and I have a lot of knowledge to prove it. Even though I have a lot of knowledge, my hair is on fire, and my insides are on fire, too. Does this make my audience think that I am silly and foolish? I doubt it!

*

Because I am a good horse, I am looking for gold. Every day, I am digging for the dollar. I say to my soldier friends, “Look! We struck oil!” A good horse never has a dull day. I know this because I do not have a house. I also do not have a car. It’s all beautiful when the revolution comes in my mouth. Did I mention my shining mane? My other ponies are so happy to see me. They are all named Jessica. My other ponies are the most beautiful things in the world. They are all named Gladys and Agnes, too. There are many feminine ponies but also masculine ponies. All ponies want is to be good. All ponies want is to evade. I ran away with Bob Dylan in every dream I had of Agnes, but she never appeared. I am such a good horse that I hate everything.

Laura Carter lives in Atlanta, where she also teaches. She has published numerous poems and reviews in journals online and in print. Her seventh chapbook, Dear Angelou, will be released from WonderRoot/Loose Change in 2016. She has two cats.