The Horseman

Daily Note

Every day, a photograph, a poem.

November: National Novel Writing Month, also called NaNoWriMo. That means that for the next thirty days, I’ll be writing at least 1,667 words each day to reach a final goal of 50,000 words. See November 1’s post for more information: I Write.

In November of 2022 on my daily walk, I saw this leaf’s shadow as a horseman on his horse, as if seeing into another world. I think that’s a reflection of living in a fantasy world as I write for NaNoWriMo– creating a new world out of just my mind, an incident, and a character who leads me on.

So, looking through my November photos for today’s poem and note, I chanced upon this photo, which I flipped vertically so you can see the horseman riding into our world too. I imagine other worlds with portals into ours and many others. What if?

I feel as if our world has been touched by a menacing shadow, creeping evil and hate into our world more than ever before. It’s so sad, really, that some people think they are gods over others, better than everyone else, and overlords judging us and ruling over us, we who see the world as big enough for everyone to live their lives in their own way. They may believe they are better and live their lives thusly, but the menace of their power over everyone else is unacceptable. That crosses the line of civility and respect and love. Live and let live.

So, shadow worlds creeping into other worlds. That’s part of my story in November. Will their eyes open to see the light of acceptance, of allowing others their own way of living? Together, we can live in peace and care for our diverse humanity.

And so, a poem of seeing.

Poetry

The Horseman

Look, child, to see
worlds in a leaf—
will you see?—
fallen in autumn
crisp and dancing
in the wind
paused for a moment—
leaf’s bronze tips
resting in its shadow,
who is a horseman
trotting
in its world
another world,
paused for a moment—
horse hooves
resting in its shadow—
seeing you
looking at
a leaf?—
do you see?

Sheri Edwards
11.03.23 307.365.23
Poetry/Photography

#clmooc #smallpoems #poetry23 #NaNoWriMo #NaNoWriMo23 #shadowworlds 

Now, back to writing my story…