CENTAUR

Half-man, half-horse is the compromise
that pleases everyone.  To be human 
means you’re an unsuccessful animal—
no instincts to speak of, no luxurious coat,
no sense of smell.  The world is only half 
present in a mind that divides and sums
and stumbles through narrated landscapes.
The horse—aristocratic, thoughtful—is curious;
what would it be like to be so unprepared 
yet to have a song for every disappointment? 
To run each moment among a herd of phantoms, 
to drag your past like a chariot behind you? 
In the old stories, the mare submits to a god
out of desire for a child with a human face.
But the human?  The human has always coveted 
a horse’s solid haunch, a view above the horizon, 
a flowing mane, and hooves that aren’t afraid.

James Armstrong is the author of three poetry books: Monument in a Summer Hat (New Issues Press), Blue Lash (Milkweed Editions) and, most recently, Empire (Shipwreckt Books).  He is also the co-author with Kim Chapman of a book of essays, Nature, Culture and Two Friends Talking (North Star Press).  He has currently working on a critical re-evaluation of the poet William Stafford. A Professor of English at Winona State University for 24 years, Armstrong was the city of Winona’s first Poet Laureate, during which time he helped found the Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest (http://sonnetcontest.org/).