Eight Belles shining in the Kentucky sun,
Eight Belles waiting for a mighty run.
The bell sounded,
the gates flung wide,
Eight bells matched the boys,
stride for stride,
‘till one Big Brown pulled ahead,
--a big brown colt with a big pounding heart.
and Eight Bells on delicate legs
threw her heart after him
threw her heart into the wind,
her long black legs reached for the sky
and as Big Brown crossed the finish line,
her black legs cracked on the sandy earth
where she tried to fly. Her-
--pounding heart,
--beating heart,
--throbbing heart,
couldn’t pulse
those broken legs
on Kentucky Derby day
Eight Belles bleeding in the Kentucky sun,
Eight Belles made her final run.
~Kathie Adams Brown (May 4, 2008)
One Single Impression
Prompt 31: Fleeting
My heart kind of raced there too at the end. This is a wonderful tribute. Well done. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and sad as well, on her final run. I felt like I could sing to this, nicely done.
ReplyDeleteWhat quiet paths said. This gave me the chills and broke my heart all over again. Thanks for this beautiful, beautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteawesome!...the rhythm of your words is like the run. & you are so right...that is one fleeting race!
ReplyDeleteWhat an nice poem and a sad note, thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathie, this is a sad poem. For some reason it keeps reminding me of 'Cold Kentucky rain' sung by Elivis Presley.
ReplyDeleteI hope the owner brings Eight Belles home (for rehab) like Elvis wanted to do in his song.
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This is brittiant! is it a true story? I always feel poetry should be true.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathie,
ReplyDeletemany thanks for a tender & beautiful poem..
You really give the feeling of being there!And whatna tragic ending too...
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing.
Sad but moving tribute. That was a heart-breaking moment for sure.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for your comments. This story is true and the ending even sadder. I happen to love horses but only watch horse racing once a year when the triple crown is at stake. This year a filly named Eight Belles ran against a field of colts. She was in the lead but sadly her forelegs both broke as she crossed the finish line. She fell to the ground and there was no saving her. The vet euthanized her on the spot. So, no rehab for Eight Belles, Jim. She was such a beautiful filly and she ran so valiantly against the boys. It broke my heart to see her die. I wrote this poem shortly afterwards.
ReplyDeleteWow! Really powerful.
ReplyDelete