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I thought of horses

1949 –

I thought of horses, broken glass, money
money changing hands
breath on cold windowpanes
I thought of things about to disappear
how they stick around, little by little
rotting away, little by little letting go
what once held them all together
letting their skin go
shedding its shaggy bark
losing its tender roots
losing its footing
losing its grasp
giving up color
turning down its signals
signifying its presence as it turns
ghostly to let us know it’s gone
I thought of ghosts
though I did not call them that

From Extremely Expensive Mystical Experiences for Astronauts (Conduit Books & Ephemera, 2024) by Dara Barrois/Dixon. Copyright © 2024 Dara Barrois/Dixon. Reprinted with the permission of the publisher.

Dara Barrois/Dixon (formerly Dara Wier) was born in Louisiana on December 30, 1949. She received her MFA in 1974 from Bowling Green State University.

About Dara Barrois/Dixon

Themes

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Who Is God? So Asked Our Dog

How many seasons are there?
Where was God born?
How many stars?
Who discovered every single one of the Americas and all of the other places?
Do some dwarves live in caves?
Is your mother singing in church tonight?
Is your father setting his hat on his head?
Do those goldfish belong to you?

Dara Barrois/Dixon

2011

Blue Oxen

(it’s scaffolding) (it’s supposed to be temporary) 
(the domino effect) (had been forgotten about)
(it was in storage) (nobody knew where)
(that’s a logging road) (you can see its gutters)
(they leave handprints) (they shudder with dolor)
(nobody could settle on any particular color)
(they meant different things to different people)
(for luck) (on the cheap) (stop now) (flesh for sale)
(fresh fruit) (insect free) (aquafarm) (moon control)

(it was label-resistant) (nobody knew how to embroider
it) (it felt like hailstones) (big as tombstones)
(it strained everyone’s intelligence) (we ha

Dara Barrois/Dixon

2005

We’re All Ghosts Now

So says my friend who doesn’t know it now
But he’s been conscripted to say what I shouldn’t

Want anyone to say too soon, too suddenly, too many times
More than must be said. It’s a tall order, or as another friend says

A tall drink of water, otherwise: it’s plain & simple:
What anyone wants most of all.

Another friend tells me I’m easy and means something sweetly as when
One caves with the slightest shudder somehow thoroughly.

Another says what you say should be in a poem which means

Dara Barrois/Dixon

2013

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I thought of horses

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