Ode To A Jock

         

The gate flies open and we jump out the best
with nostrils flaring and ears pinned our match
we have now met

I steady my mount then we head for the rail
there is pounding of hooves are all around me
but onward we sail

We are crunched, pinched, and beaten about
but the horse shows no resistance and I find a
way out

Then out of the turn and down the stretch, I yell "Lets
Go" and he leaves like a jet

I can see up ahead the finish line it's not too far
now
I can almost smell the roses in the winner's circle
at Churchill Downs

No greater accomplishment can a Jock achieve
then to be the winner of a Kentucky Derby

I dismount and as my feet hit the ground, a mob
of reporters come running like a bunch of hounds

Shoving microphones in my face for me to recap
the last furlongs of the race

I try to respond though I am a bundle of nerves
after the last sixteenth it was all a blur

The horse did his job he carried us through
You should be interviewing him, he's the real news

The lights have now faded, the interviews are done
the parties are all over and our race has been run

Next year will bring another chance for someone to
win this most prestigious race

And another will stand in my place with pride
beaming from their face

For no greater honor will a Jock ever receive
than to be the winner of a Kentucky Derby

Linda Browning Alicea