Susan Delaney Spear

Aubade: In a Flash

Between night and day, I cling to the fence,
Feet on the bottom rung, hands on the top.
Daddy stands tall beside me in his green 
Plaid jacket and flat cap. Fog holds us tight.
First, I hear it. Thunder. Daddy turns
And meets my eyes with his. The soft earth shudders —
Then, I see the horse, its front legs reaching
Far ahead, its back legs straight behind. 
Its tail a flag. A tiny man (a friend 
Of Daddy’s) rides it, crouching knee to nose.
It must have been mere seconds, but nearly
Seven decades later, I see it still:
That animal, so grand, suspended in air,
That flash of love in Daddy’s hazel eyes.

Susan Delaney Spear is the author of Beyond All Bearing and On Earth….(Resource Publications 2018, 2022). She is co-editor of Think. She is a retired professor from Colorado who now lives in Tampa, Florida. You can find her at www.susandelaneyspear.com.