TATTOOS AND BIRTHDAYS
There is not much left
After death clears his plate
Of us
After death clears his plate
Of us
Empty shoes and
Riderless horses
Wandering the streets
Riderless horses
Wandering the streets
Vodka bottles
Filled with tears
Metal cans filled with ashes
Filled with tears
Metal cans filled with ashes
But what becomes
Of un-used birthdays?
Who owns them?
Of un-used birthdays?
Who owns them?
Even a dead man
Still owns
The day he was born
Still owns
The day he was born
The Start of the Race of the Riderless Horses -- Emile-Jean-Horace Vernet
The Race of the Riderless Horses -- Théodore Géricault
The Race of the Riderless Horses -- Théodore Géricault
“La mossa,” the race of small riderless horses from wild stock held in the Piazza del Popolo was a highlight of Roma’s Carnival. Weighted, spiked balls were attached by cords to the horses to spur the animals as they moved. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe called it "one of the finest sights that can be seen anywhere in the world." In the early 1820s the young French painters Vernet and Gericault were friendly rivals who both had difficulty completing their studies on the subject.
ReplyDeleteThe riderless horse has come to symbolize a warrior who would ride no more. A riderless horse, with boots reversed in the stirrups, following a caisson carrying the casket has become a feature of military funerals. In the US the practice began in 1804 with the burial of former treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton, after he was killed in a duel by vice president Aaron Burr. A tattoo is a military performance of music (or display of armed forces in general). The term comes from the early 17th century Dutch phrase “doe den tap toe” (turn off the tap), a signal sounded during the Thirty Years' War when drummers or trumpeters were sent out at 2130 to signal that innkeepers near military garrisons must stop serving beer and for soldiers to return to their barracks. The name was attached to a tune played on a snare drum and then as a bugle call, signaling that all light in squad rooms must be extinguished and all loud talking and other disturbances be discontinued within 15 minutes, at which time Taps should follow.
I adore it! Deep, simple, images evocative, accurate. Oh, I loved it. It's great writing.
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