Equus Stalled

This evening I share with you two more painterly photographs captured by Jen Cypress this past summer. I’ll step aside so that her images and a still evolving poem, “Equus Stalled”, can stand on their own.

After many years of slow, intermittent carriage barn rehab, it’s profoundly rewarding to experience this space now. Thank you, Tony, for fine tuning the carriage barn first floor last summer. (Soon, the second floor!)

Equus Stalled

Portrait perfection
isn’t formula —
chestnut on chestnut,
sheen against rough hewn,
puddles of soft light,
eye-to-eye contact,
carriage barn embrace —
or cute contrivance.
It’s a horse at rest,
watchful and alert,
ears perked, curious,
sleek and muscular,
amber and walnut
coat catching sunlight
filtered through a door
and tiny windows.
It’s contrast between
rippling physique
of the handsome horse
and geometric
precision of the
stall’s build and finish,
between worn floorboards
and patinated walls,
hoof dinged and pee stained,
between sculptural
subject and shelter
polished by purpose.