Horse Racing by Timir Banerjee, MD
One has to love Butkowski to enjoy Plath’ s Ariel Horse racing is exciting and tracks are full of gamblers and smiling faces. One has to accept the beguile And learn to enjoy Yeats at the Galway races. An opportunity to wear a jacket or a hat that is surreal And to look like a handicapper while turning the racing form pages.
It is full of disappointment unless one learns to purloin happiness By learning to absorb the energy of the equine at their best Knowing fully well that it may not be a successful business But just to bathe in the thrill and accept the rest. It is a joy to be at the winners’ circle with multiple strangers joining Next to a proud horse, a smiling jockey and a picture for future bragging!
Oh! the sound of the galloping hooves louder than Hermes’ sandals Cutting through the wind, at unstoppable speed Silks bulging, nostrils flaring and the dust that could snuff St. Lucy’ s candles To cash a ticket or to give up a kingdom or to be enshrined for its deed.
All in all it is the love of the animal that can excite or calm an agitated mood A long shot, an inquiry and always to hold on till the results are on the tote board. Dr. Banerjee is a clinical professor of neurosurgery at the University of Louisville.
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