The Last Night

They knew it was me. 

Through my scent, they way I walked

My “heyyyy girls,” 

The slip under the fence, the clasp of my abs, the soft swing of my hair

Knotted in damp curls

Told them I was no predator

And how small I feel

When stating up at the white abyss that knows no end

Reflected in black marble,

Far as visible

A cool so deep 

That in between my arms

Rippling with taught muscle

All I feel is 

Open.

They were all sleeping, 

Together, under the overhang of the barn,

The hot breath through giant nostrils

The calm swish of long tail.

She put her nose to my stomach 

And I breathed. I breathed the air of eight years.

The holy air

Pure as the milky way

I sat there, in the dust, cradled by my horses

And cried and cried and cried. 

And they understood.