Daughters

My daughter is often my muse so here are a couple of poems written for her over the years.
The first was written in my head ( I never do carry that notebook, but it is to be recommended)
 I was watching her from the relative comfort of the car on an inclement day in winter.
She was about 10 and strutting her stuff at the riding stables.

The Arena

What takes her out on these soft days

to wade through muck and fog

on wetted horse flanks

that stink of rain and earth and horsehair?

I watch through cold car pane as she changes gear.

Then squatting low she rises, clears a fence three feet tall,

lands square, sits high, jogs up and down,

sits low, and canters.

The second poem was inspired by Nicola Slattery's paintings, famed for their figurative narrative qualities

http://www.nicolaslattery.com/

Let me tell you about my daughter.

Let me tell you about my daughter-

she has her head in the clouds

and dreams of fish that fly

and clouds that can bear the weight of her

and golden dresses strewn with leaves of filigree silver.

My daughter defies the laws of gravity-

she turns my life upside-down

and seeing things from her topside-up perspective,

I begin to wonder -

where have I been all my life?

Copyright with Cathy Leonard 2016