Horse Swimming

St Croix

When at last their big bodies,

hot and caked with mud,

dip into the Caribbean,

all the horses groan

and moan with happiness. 

The trail ride is over,

and out of the familiar line,

the horses swim together,

bucking with excitement.

Some begin to charge

and race one another;

others simply float,

comfortably with the current

as if in another life

they were creatures of the sea.

Still others get so happy

they shit in the water—

we don’t quite understand,

and yet, in this moment

it somehow all makes sense:

knowing the reins are useless,

I’m holding the bare neck

of this strong joyful creature

plunging through the water,

and laughing in the waves,

when suddenly it hits me:

this business of being human

is utterly absurd.