“Pegasus the Horse” by Molly Boeder Harris

Pegasus the Horse,
   flesh, tendon and unbridled velocity
   pulsing, beating heart
   respiration sounding the storm,
   like wind,
   like the feeling of having overcome,
   having been able to outrun,
   cardiac catharsis churns out
   sweat on a wet coat
   smooth and shiny
   sinewy shadows of muscular strength
   running, leaping, in spontaneous stride
   rhythm unbroken,
   uninhibited coordination, innate and ongoing
   tearing up the ground beneath for the simple purpose
   one destination,
   forward
   four legs, one articulate tail, crushing but humble weight,
   and a mane that bends with the air we breathe
   the physiology of resilience.
 
Pegasus the Bird of Prey,
   soaring, feather power circling upwards
   hollow bones borne of an uncluttered mind
   cumulative practice
   effortless manipulation of an energetic current
   an ease that comes with capturing universal abundance,
   the atmosphere’s treasures
   responsive to weather, pressure, heat and clouds,
   moving up and moving down
   water repellant, wind empowered,
   visions of the future, past, present
   and internal sight
   movement requiring the specificity of the here and now,
   touching down and reaching in
   depth perception, far sightedness and precision
   surrender and stability,
   relying solely on the shape it was given,
   the arc in the sky
   nature makes no mistakes.
 
Pegasus My Flesh,
   colors bleed like the Uruguayan sunset
   pink, turquoise, orange, yellow, purple into blue
   colors to brighten my view
   fierce and ready to protect,
   this flesh taken back, this wound taken back
   catalyzed by my primitive brain un-thwarted
   sealed and seared into skin
   my body reclaimed with needles and sweat and color and tears
   an ink to pull out the poison
   the kind eyes and clear soul of an artist that paints our capacity to
   transcend
   and a pre-destined song assumes new meaning within this space,
   the vastness of this pain, and the clearness of this purpose
   a prayer mobilized through sensation,
   now charging ahead with thick-thighed legs
   draws the line between all that is possible
   and all that I once feared
   traces a form, that is at once bird and beast and the soul unbound
   erases distance, cultivates the interconnection of the body
   and the mind
   and the infinite space inside.
 
Pegasus to mark the ending,
   hooves leaving trampled memories
   like ashes
   returning to the Earth
   triggers and sensations refer no longer
   to my Breaking,
   but rather
   to my Becoming
   conflicted identity formerly conflated with an indescribable sorrow,
   held tenderly,
   at last,
   reveals beneath its own tension and pulling,
   a flexibly firm knowing
   full of the moment’s
   unquenchable longing
   burning, scabbing, healing
   resting, attending, and grieving,
   some kind of wonderful will be revealed.
 
Pegasus to mark the beginning,
   unfolding, liberating, mastery and breath
   weighty and thunderous
   and patiently quiet,
   like beams of light traveling back from space
   to whisper cosmic wisdom, and soften the path ahead
   new wings and exponential speed
   my momentum unleashed
   counter-balanced by a dream to remember this slowly
   memories and images settle and digest
   a cycle turning towards complete
   the clear sensing eyes of an animal untamed
   the clear seeing heart of an animal untamed
   my return, marked forever by each breath I take
   the ribcage of holding,
   of self-protection,
   patterned by this Story,
   still so much unfolding, still so much untold,
   necessarily, still moving
   drawing in, expanding out,
   soaring, galloping
   and once again,
   free.
 

Molly Boeder Harris is the Founder of The Breathe Network, a non-profit organization that connects survivors of sexual violence to holistic healing arts practitioners who provide trauma-informed, sliding-scale, mind-body-spirit oriented treatments to support embodied healing. Learn more at www.thebreathenetwork.org

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