Monday, February 7, 2011

A Horse is a Horse by Tomas O Carthaigh

A horse is a horse and a man is a man
And neither can be the other
And each can survive but is much better
In the company of one another.
And while a horse is a horse and that is true
A horse is but a beast
As a cow is a cow, some ask how
On its flesh we should not feast?
For they do so in France as in other places
And I don't know how they can
For while a horse is a horse and is only a horse
It is less a cow than it is a man!


I didn't really know what poem to respond to this week....so I googled "horse poem" and this came up. I thought it was a bit interesting, so here it is in my blog. I probably connect with this poem a bit more than most people, simply because I own horses and have my whole life. I especially like the phrase "For while a horse is a horse and is only a horse, it is less a cow than it is a man!" because unlike most stock animals, they carry a bit of intelligence with them, like a dog or cat. Then there is the phrase about a man and horse being good on their own, but better together, which I also like. Although it is really not applicable in today's terms, horses benefit from the care the owners give them, and the owner benefits from the extra (no pun intended) horsepower they can use around the farm or whatnot. It also reminds me of a quote I read on a calendar that stated "Look back on our struggle for freedom, Trace our present day's strength to its source; and you will find that man's pathway to glory, is strewn with the bones of a horse." This poem could also talk about people in general as well. Everyone has their own unique strengths and weaknesses, and nobody can be anybody else, IE "neither can be the other." Both people can subsist on their own fine, but if they work together they will prosper.

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