Shakespeare’s Horse by Joseph Harrison

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend April 10, 2014   Shakespeare’s Horse   Joseph Harrison

He was a man knew horses, so we moved As wills were one, and all was won at will, In hand with such sleight handling as improved Those parks and parcels where we’re racing still, Pounding like pairs of hooves or pairs of hearts Through woodland scenes and lush, dramatic spaces, With all our parts in play to play all parts In pace with pace to put us through his paces. Ages have passed. All channels channel what Imagined these green plots and gave them names Down to the smallest role, if and and but, What flies the time (the globe gone up in flames), What thunders back to ring the ringing course And runs like the streaking will, like Shakespeare’s horse.         Copyright © 2014 by Joseph Harrison. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   “The story that Shakespeare got his start in theater by taking care of the horses audience members rode to plays, serving as the Elizabethan equivalent of a parking valet, is probably apocryphal. But he would have ridden horses frequently, especially as he traveled between London and Stratford. Though he may never have owned one, I like to imagine that for several years he had a particular favorite, and that he even, on occasion, composed in his head while he rode.” —Joseph Harrison   Joseph Harrison’s most recent collection of poems is Identity Theft (Waywiser Press, 2008). He lives in Baltimore, Maryland. Most Recent Book by Harrison   Identity Theft  (Waywiser Press, 2008) "When that I was and a little tiny boy" by William Shakespeare "Sonnetesque" by Lynn Emanuel "Parkeresque" by Rebecca Wolff Poem-a-Day   This week’s Poem-a-Day is curated by Academy of American Poets Chancellor Edward Hirsch. Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends.  Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038