Bodexpress

Published by Donna Kathryn Kelly at April 14, 2022

Donna Kathryn Kelly

You stand at Devil’s Gulch
and say,
“I don’t think Jesse James
took a horse across here,”
and I don’t either,
because it’s much too wide
and there’s no way
a horse could jump that far
without breaking a cannon bone
or falling into the chasm,
even with Jesse James on its back
kicking, and spurring,
and slashing the reins
side to side against its withers.
The most magnificent jumper
simply could not become airborne
over that distance,
(even factoring in decades of erosion),
so, it’s likely a legend,
an exaggeration,
and Jesse James probably chose
a safer, much-narrower way
across Split Rock Creek.
But, if true,
it’s really the horse who deserves the credit,
and not Jesse James;
just like the colt who bucked off his jockey
at Pimlico in the Preakness
and who ran the race without him,
edging forward as fast as he could,
not knowing how to stop
once the bell had rung,
igniting some freedom
from the whip and the reins,
reveling in the feel of riderless flight,
his hooves delighting against dirt:
a reckless, yet glorious gallop,
seeming to glide,
not caring anymore
about rules, and audiences,
and victories,
or man’s attempt at control,
not caring about anything anymore,
except running.
In hindsight though,
the colt seemed scared
more than anything else,
with his high-strung
aristocratic face,
panic-stricken,
and looking for a way out,
trying to escape.
I ask you:
Was it a warning
of the exile
that welcomed us the following year?

Poet’s note: In the 2019 Preakness Stakes, Bodexpress dumped his jockey immediately out of the gate, but continued running the race without a rider. Source: NBC Sports, youtube.com, Preakness Stakes 2019: Bodexpress runs in Preakness without jockey, May 19, 2019.

Donna Kathryn Kelly

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Donna Kathryn Kelly practiced law for many years in the Illinois criminal justice system. After spending the first decade of her legal career as a criminal defense attorney, Kelly worked as a felony prosecutor in McHenry County, Illinois. Kelly is the author of the crime novel, COP EYES, a murder mystery concerning a northwest suburban Chicagoland area public defender, Cheney Manning, whose police officer husband is shot and killed in the line of duty. COP EYES is available for purchase on Amazon.com.