The Almost Horse
Nothing more stubborn or more a fool,
than the genuine Arkansas mule,
that hill folks consider a farming tool.
Why would some obstinate half wit
fit his dumb mule with bridle and bit
then hope to steer this hybrid misfit?
Yes, they can out-pull a normal horse,
yet what they do with all that force
is stubbornly pick their own way of course.
Making a stopped mule to get up and go,
perversely just holler out whoa,
then what makes them stop, I do not know.
Male donkeys functioned as the mules dad,
and compliant mares turn quite sad
seeing the strange offspring they then had.
Hybrids might help the corn grow so tall
but cross-breeding did not help at all
farmers to put mules in a horse's stall!
- Gerald Bosacker 2017
Originally destined to become a crusading journalist or witty editorialist, Gerald Bosacker was forced by family responsibilities to abandon his part-time jobs and night school classes at the University of Minnesota, to work fulltime in the graphic arts salesman. There, his love of the well chosen word enabled him to become a successful graphic arts supply salesman who migrated upward, propelled by serendipity coupled with his tolerance and empathy for faulted people, to become senior vice president of sales for a large international printing chemical company.
Promoted much beyond his ambition and capability, he jumped at early retirement at his first opportunity. Gerald Bosacker now lives in Montanas, awaiting discovery of his social commentary skills. He has resumed his first love, weaving words into prize-winning poetry and surprising short tales that borrow heavily from the fascinating people he met in his world-wide travels.
No comments:
Post a Comment