A MAN HOLDING HIS HORSE

 

    Poor Dai never got the hang of it,

    At school in our first lesson

    On art appreciation

    We studied

    'A Man Holding His Horse'

    By George Stubbs.

   

    The teacher issued us

    With notebooks

    In which to record

    Feelings and impressions

    Arising from the painting.

   

    Dai wrote only

    ‘This is a picture of a man

    Holding his horse’

    Which earned him

    A buffet across the ears

    In front of the class.

    

    I still think of poor Dai

    Every time I look at art,

    He is the litmus

    To test my reactions.

   

    Sometimes I see

    Beyond the obvious,

    Sometimes I don't

    For there is nothing

    More to be revealed.

     

    Then like Dai I cringe

    At the injustice

    Of any blow that follows.

 

David Subacchi.2015.