Inside Looking Out

From the inside looking out

A bright-eyed horse stands

Head held high to the sky

Ready to take on the world

Without a single doubt

Pulling the heavy sled

as if it were merely

as light as the warm air

from the wind overhead

And digging its sturdy feet

into the ground below

with not a trace of sweat

or flutter of heartbeat

But from the outside looking in

appears a not so bright-eyed horse

sinking to a place of dark unknown

like a victim of cancer

whose battle is about to begin

Ribs protruding from its side

Face sunken in superlatively

And thin ears drooping

as far down as the ocean is wide

If only the pain didn’t fill throughout

Wishing that, for just a moment,

It could be forever like the bright-eyed horse

From the inside looking out