I idly turned on the TV
And saw them taking horses
To the starting gate.
A mare refused to go in:
You can take a horse to the racing track,
But you cannot make her run.
The announcer was getting impatient;
The stands and betting shops were full
Of punsters eager to transfer the money of the losers
To their own pockets.
But the mare did not want to be spurred and whipped,
And fiercely ridden to the possibility
Of serious injury or death;
So, she refused to go in.
When the pushing, coaxing and threatening failed,
The race began.
And the cameras followed it,
Not her lonely and ignominious return
To the silent stables.
Such losers and delinquents, I had read,
Could end up as dog food or glue.
I wondered if she could hear
The noises celebrating the winner
At the finishing post.