… inflated, a fiver, Made in Spain, bought
with candy floss and a fluorescent snake;
harness, saddle, accoutrements in red
and gold with tassels; caparisoned as if
for the Spanish Riding School in Vienna
or the corrida; forever prancing
with a winsome, vulnerable chestnut eye
but, though deflating, still too big for the long
drive south so left with us for safe keeping…

It rides unseen in the gazebo – secure
from downpours or gusts or jackdaws – becoming
one dimensional. Perhaps we will
frame it as a keepsake.