Don’t Let That Horse…
We had a very different Fourth of July this year. My daughter, Katie, was participating in the annual Youth of the Year competition at the Minnesota North Start Morgan Americana Horse Show. Which meant that we spent most of the day with her at the MN State Fair Grounds in recording-setting 100 degree weather while she took tests on horse knowledge, gave a presentation on Morgan horses, rode patterns (kind of like the compulsory exercises in figure skating), and was tested on her judging skills. It was a full and exhausting day, so much so that we came home, had supper, and all were too tired to go out to fireworks. So we went to bed knowing that Katie had two more days of competition which meant two more days at the stables.
Great days, filled with wonderful friends and, well, lots of horses. Which is why, I suppose, when I was thinking about a poem for this weekend I couldn’t resist Lawrence Fernlinghetti’s “Don’t Let That Horse…” It’s not really about horses, I suppose, any more than Chagall’s painting is, but the horse figures prominently in both poem and painting and, besides, it’s so utterly whimsical that it captured both my heart and imagination. (And it probably doesn’t hurt that Katie also plays the violin and would, I have no doubt, feed a horse her violin if she thought the horse looked hungry!)
As you read, try to detect where the poem starts and the painting begins and where the poet leaves the realm of mere description and enters into the fantasy concocted by the painter. Try, but don’t try too hard. Which is, I think, the point! Have a great weekend.
PS: The painting is beneath for your viewing pleasure!
Don’t Let That Horse…
Don’t let that horse
eat that violin
cried Chagall’s mother
But he
kept right on
painting
And became famous
And kept on painting
The Horse With Violin In Mouth
And when he finally finished it
he jumped up upon the horse
and rode away
waving the violin
And then with a low bow gave it
to the first naked nude he ran across
And there were no strings
attached
Lawrence Fernlinghetti, from A Coney Island of the Mind: Poems
Marc Chagall, The Equestrienne, 1931
One of your best posts so far!
Loved this…
Dear David, The Poetry Foundation is currently featuring an essay by Ferlinghetti in which he discusses poetry and his own painting. Here’s the link:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/article/244228
I so enjoy reading your lovely, thoughtful posts, Dianne
P.S. Best to Katie and her Morgan
Thank you so much, Diane, for this link and your kind words.
My problem with this poem is that the horse is not eating the violin but has it tucked under its chin. So what is Ferlinghetti doing? Perhaps he is pointing out that we need to observe closely and that misperception can give rise to extraordinary flights of the imagination with most satisfying results.