Girl on a Donkey
A gentle donkey,
with eyes of a defeated saint,
void of past or future stares
into the blank space
of a timeless day.
The well-meant intent
of playful bridle bells
and floral blanket cannot
compensate for the fact
that the donkey’s tail
is absent . . .
. . . so we move on to the girl,
dressed for a Santa Barbara winter.
Their shadows hint late morning
and play, perhaps, painfully
interrupted because,
in spite of classy buttoned boots,
pleated dress, multiple puffs
to sleeves, white ruffled cuffs
and stylish bangs—
she tempering a scowl that would
wilt the Lone Ranger.
Does she resent pretending to grip
fancy, useless handlebars attached
to the horn of the saddle?
Or a hat more Sufi Whirling Dervish
turban than the straw brimmed
bonnet of the day?
If I am but a boring cynic, projecting
doubts on a celebratory moment
possibly captured by one of the first
commercially available transparent
celluloid roll film cameras,
I walk away, throw up my hands,
pass the blame,
pin this grim tale on the donkey.
After the Edson Smith Photo Collection Santa Barbara Adobe
Peg Quinn has a B.F.A. in Education from the University of Nebraska and is a visual artist and educator. Her poetry and creative non-fiction have been published in numerous journals and anthologies and three-times nominated for the Pushcart Prize. Her debut book, Mother Lode, was published by Gunpowder Press in 2021. Also by this poet “Undated Letter to Edson Smith“