The Race That Stopped A Heart

We get our thrills
Playing sports that entail risk
But in some games the only danger
Is choking on a chicken bone
Or being stabbed in the eye
By a stray fascinator

Before the off, horses parade
Each handsome and strong
Their coats healthily glisten
Strappers have hair to match
And the rose garden promises peace
How lovely and exciting

In the paddock on the rails
Or remotely at a luncheon
Tipsily for a number we cheer
Just for a number
Balm against the ennui
Induced by daily greed

Long stale dreams revive
For that brief moment
While race callers
Scream excitement
Going for the whip
In a microphone slather

Some embrace the hangover
Amid bottles clanking in skips
And betting slip debris
Ignoring a horse dying in pain
Giving all for humans to enjoy
Willingly? Oh please!

Broken legged, put down
Euthanased is the term
We prefer – to end the pain
Makes us feel better
But the cost of our pleasure
Makes us inhumane

© Tony Smith 2020

Lead photo by Simson Petrol, secondary photo by , both images from StockSnap.

Dr Tony Smith is a former academic who now spends time busking and writing songs and reviews. He lives in the bush in the NSW Central West.