The Handler

[Jack of Hearts]

What strange pastures you must keep;
a wild, bucking, furied beast
in the tall grass, gnashing teeth
in the wind, in itself.

The furied beast always gets
nostrils flaring, filled with spit-
but calm and careful pats sooth hide,
ease the burning,
stop the kicks.

You know the tricks.
And they gather around you
like branch-cover in a rainstorm.


For you.

[PrinceMyshkin]

There's lots of energy in this and some intriguing slant rhymes but I can't follow the content well enough.

[AuntShecky]

I can't figure out the specific talent of the person addressed in this piece ("you") but it must be quite rarefied--as your extended metaphor suggests --on the order of a bull-fighter, lion-tamer, horse-breaker, or even--given the genteel "tricks" that "soothe" --"a horse whisperer."

A very nice piece, even though I'm not quite sure what it means(not that my understanding of the meaning is at all necessary.)

[Delta40]

I was thinking more like a bull

[hillwalker]

I was picturing a bronco being broken by its handler...

a couple of phrases seemed rather off -

gnashing teeth is a bit of a cliche and for some reason put me in mind of a set of dentures in a glass suddenly coming to life

filled with spit - maybe spittle resonates better with nostrils and doesn't suggest the physical act of ejecting mucus

and

but calm and careful pats sooth[e] hide, again didn't read quite right. Pats and hide can both be read as nouns or verbs, which means the reader is forced to pause and reconsider which each is meant to be in this context. And as a result it disrupts the flow somewhat.

H

[virgo27]

As always, the regulars give such good advice.

I personally really like this poem, because of the subject matter. I work with wild children all day, and you have to be a tamer to keep them calm, happy and productive.

The poem seems to have been written for someone or about someone. If there is a person, it is nice to know they exist.

[Jack of Hearts]

For this writer, the process of writing has never come easy or been overly fruitful. This poem was written for that person who has kept this writer's psyche together, seen the worst of it and its irrational personal fears.





J

[jajdude]

Jack, it may not come easy but most of the time your writing is good and worth seeing.

[IceM]

I got both the impression of a wild horse, and a hyperbole of a child whose tantrum is raging, especially because the last stanza can seem a manipulation of audience to garner attention, although I'm sure the latter interpretation wasn't intended.

I disagree with Hill's query of the "sooth pats" line, only because, in context, I had no confusion as to whether the noun or verb was intended. Grammatically, there may be a mix-up, as he suggested, but I only found it obtrusive if I took that line out of context, as reading it as written left me with no question as to how you inteded to use the line. My recommendation on that same line, however, is to add a modifier before hide. "But calm and careful pats soothe [the] hide." Without the included the, you have two stresses paired together. That reads unnaturally.

It was a pleasant read. I'm not sure if the poem needs the first line, as, suprisingly, it threw me off. Perhaps that's just me, but without the first line, I feel it'd be more clear.

Thanks for sharing.

[Jerrybaldy]

For this writer, the process of writing has never come easy or been overly fruitful. This poem was written for that person who has kept this writer's psyche together, seen the worst of it and its irrational personal fears.

Nobody saw this coming Jack and sometimes the beauty of this place is in the comments as well as the poetry and seeing people get it right and wrong and hearing from the writer the truth of what you thought you understood. Glad you are here Jack.

[Jack of Hearts]

Thanks, Jer. A pleasure to share the board with you.





J