WHAT HAPPENED AMONG THE STARS
the girl shoed her horse’s hooves with paste and sequins
created a layer tough enough to withstand
the subzero vacuum of space
the molten surface of stars
as she rode she sang songs from school
of muffin men and ladybug picnics and eating worms
the blackness swallowed all sound
her horse still heard every word
he knew her every breath
he felt the weight difference as a bead of sweat
evaporated upon her skin
he knew that the hand tangled in his mane
missed the slick poles of the playground ladder
hated the juicy overflow of a broken taco
and that those fingers would soon wield
power that would age her beyond her years
that her eyes would forget how to cry
the horse, he knew his own grief
he galloped onward