What does the horse give you
That I cannot give you?

I watch you when you are alone,
When you ride into the field behind the dairy,
Your hands buried in the mare’s
Dark mane.

Then I know what lies behind your silence:
Scorn, hatred of me, of marriage. Still,
You want me to touch you; you cry out
As brides cry, but when I look at you I see
There are no children in your body.
Then what is there?

Nothing, I think. Only haste
To die before I die.

In a dream, I watched you ride the horse
Over the dry fields and then
Dismount: you two walked together;
In the dark, you had no shadows.
But I felt them coming toward me
Since at night they go anywhere,
They are their own masters.

Look at me. You think I don’t understand?
What is the animal
If not passage out of this life?

Analysis, meaning and summary of Louise Glück's poem Horse

1 Comment

  1. ashly renee young says:

    hi louise gluck
    I really do like your poem ”Horse”.I really do think that it’s a very good poem from you. I wanted to ask you a question,have you ever written other poems instead of the ones you have on the internet?

    well i got to go bye ashly

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