A Poetry Sample

Horses in the Mist

When just before the day breaks free
Rips loose the ragged reign of night
The clouds descend to hug the land
Obscure the image from my sight
Of pastures where the grass is kissed
With dew, graze horses in the mist

I pause to see their equine grace
In stately stance or joyous run
With wisps of gray they're cloaked until
A morning breeze reveals the sun
As tendrils of the fog persist
Subdue the horses in the mist

This poem is not in my book. It is in the poetry anthology Sailing in the Mist of Time which was compiled from the Margaret Reid Traditional Poetry Contest. I don't have any punctuation in it mostly because I am lazy about such things. I think I did include it in the version I submitted to the contest.

This style is a rather classical, traditional style of poetry. I write in many different styles. Though I lean more toward rhyme, every now and then I like to let a good freeverse rip! The *rip* really refers to my writing it - not necessarily its impact. :-)

The inspiration for this poem came when I drove by a pasture one misty morning where horses were grazing. First thought to come to mind was - 'horses in the mist', that would be a nice poem title. Then the whole thing started pouring out. I finished it at work that morning.