"The Carnival Of Horses"
The Carnival of Horses
Where the carnivorous red horses are devouring man flesh
Their red barrel chests heaving up and down
Drunk on human flesh they devour their victims
And lazily wait heavily for their next victim to fall in
They are red from blood and their fat white teeth are stained
Murderous horses they cannot be trusted with men
The Carnival of Horses
Where the pink and baby blue horses are chomping the bit
Around and around they dance to the music of the stars at night
Their heads rise and fall their mouths are open and panting
Feet pounding the golden floor as they dance up and down
Nodding and bowing like crashing waves
There are pink roses in their hair hung from streamers
The soft locks of hair fall into their foreheads
Children come up to their haunches with wide eyes
And climb on their backs and hold on
While they tell them the stories of the night
Why some are lost and some are found
Why crickets must die in the autumn
Why chickens are born to be slaughtered
Why children cry when their toys are taken
Why ships roll in and pulse through the night
Why lost things are sometimes never found
Why they are doomed to pound the earth forever
Why they cannot reenter the kingdom of heaven
Why they must grow up and lose their innocence
These horses know that we all must die
They know of that which stalks us in the night
Perhaps that is why they are so fiercely dancing
Like nothing could put out the fir beneath them
And further on the black jarred night
The golden globes of light hang under the sky
And trace the paths of strangers seeking a thrill
Where the ferris wheel looms darkly in the night
All ablazoned with lights like the doom of all things
Or the great wheel of father time eaking out our lives
Where graffiti marks the dissonance of youth
And pickpockets snatch the watches from unwary purses
Lost in unfamiliar languages unknown to the general assembly
And unaware to those who govern the land
The hungry are taking what they need by force
And raiding the villager's stalls and filling their bellies
Then they get on the horses and ride into the night
Raiding and feasting and going through their incarnations
Little children growing and falling back down again
The horses don't care who rises or falls
They are beating into the earth their triumphant horse destiny
The Carnival of Horses
And further on the outskirts of this outpost
The blue and black horses are solemnly carrying the Indians
Down and down into places where street vendors fear to tread
These people fear not the darkness of night
They flinch not when they are whipped severely across their cheeks
They pray not when the fall of man is descended upon us all
They fear not and seek only solitude and peace and rest
Ever wandering, wandering they ride through sunflower meadows
Where the blue paint on their black horses cracks in the sunlight
Fearless and conquered they have no hopes to dash
And pray if they are ever moved to wrath for they cannot be
And long and lonely is their night vigil
These horses come out at night when the devil is on their backs
These are my warrior horses These will I send you
Into the night when dark is on the face of us all
To carry the children back into nonbeing
And the thieves and the hungry back into their beds
Where they can lay softly and feel safe at night
And listen at night to the falling of streetcars
Rising and falling under the lowlit witch moon
Horses are meant to carry children to their destinies
And they will until tide and time's begun
And the race is bound for another shore
In Jesus' Name,
Amen