I Dream of Horses

I dream of horses,
drawn in paddocks.
Stallions, colts, a silver bay.
I call out, ‘get on, get on!’

Halfway to town, a ranger
in chaps, riding-pants,
high-calibre rifle, shoots one.
They’ve trampled the melons.

At the rodeo, Sunday, in the fracas
of bull riding & bucking broncos
the ranger dies
in a horse float
jam-packed with melons
to get his fill.