Taffy Waits

[Kym]

Here's another one we can rip to shreds then fix up. Go at it like a pack of hungry dogs ...

It's another one to go with a painting. It's a war scene and a horse is standing amongst the terrifying commotion waiting until his injured rider can remount.

Taffy Waits
by Kym Eitel

By the gumtree in the paddock, Taffy stands.
A handsome chestnut gelding, fifteen hands.
He hears the school bus coming
so he stands beside the gate
for his boy to take him riding.
Taffy waits.

The Remount Section’s looking. Taffy’s sold.
He’s strong and fit with coat and heart of gold.
He’s led aboard a steam ship.
Taffy’s tense but braves the fates.
Across the sea he travels.
Taffy waits.

His rider’s Corporal Edwards, Taffy’s friend.
They form a special bond no war can end.
Each day brings blood and battle,
lack of food emaciates.
But at night he rests by starlight.
Taffy waits.

Through explosions, bullets, shrapnel, Taffy strides,
hears Edwards curse the Turkish as he rides.
Then a scream, and Edwards falling
as a bomb shell detonates.
By his wounded rider’s body,
Taffy waits.

Edwards reaches out a hand and Taffy neighs.
His instincts spur to flee this blood-filled blaze.
But he’s loyal to his partner;
nearby fighting escalates.
Taffy won’t desert his rider.
Taffy waits.

His muscles twitch with fear then Taffy sees
his master rising slowly to his knees.
Despite the crack of gunfire,
in the smoke-filled hell he hates,
grenades go whizzing past but
Taffy waits.

His eyes are ringed with white, poor Taffy’s scared
but thankful that his rider has been spared.
Heroic hoof beats gallop
through the enemy to mates
by the canvas tent with crosses.
Taffy waits.

He hears the war has ended. Taffy sighs.
But ‘home’ is not an option. Edwards cries.
Each man must shoot his mount now,
and in spite of mass debates,
for a single, silver bullet,
Taffy waits.

In the peaceful grass in Heaven, Taffy rests.
Three hundred thousand horses, other guests.
But he’s waiting for two people
as he stands by pearly gates.
For his boy and Corporal Edwards,
Taffy waits.

[william williams]

hi bill here sorry Kym have taken the smack I deserve shes a mongrel being a stickler in your old age

my old uncle before he died was a remount buyer and he stated that coloured horses were not to be supplied

but dam it the palomino makes the picture and poem alive. One of my old horses was a Taffy a very dark brownish palomino with an eel stripe in a lighter shade down I bottle reared him and he turned out to be a dam good horse

Bill the old battler

[Neville Briggs]

I won't rip it to pieces Kym.

I like the idea of a poem about a painting.


Neville

[Kym]

Yeah Bill, I thought that only bays browns and black were accepted, but apparently if they were desperate they'd take anything. I asked the lady who did this painting about the horse colours, and she said that if you look at some of the old photos, there are even greys! I'll have to dig through my books and check it out.

Neville, I'm working on my fifth book at the moment (I skipped the fourth one cos this one is more exciting - I'll get back to it later). Anyway, instead of having cartoons and sketches for illustrations, I'm going all out to find amazing, awesome, breathtaking artworks about horses. Oh I forgot to mention the whole 140 pages is dedicated to horse poems! Zondrae will be thrilled.

It won't be just paintings and photos - there are sculptures made from corrugated iron, sand, snow, driftwood, scrap steel (stainless, not rusty). One lady paints realistic pictures using boot polish, and there is intarsia wood art, topiary horses, bronze statues, carved boulder opal, coin collection, chocolate horses, stained glass, too much to list. And amazing photos and digital art. And an equine artist that IS an equine - a mare paints holding the brush between her teeth!

The book will be all full colour illustrations, glossy pages, hard cover. I'm so excited, but the family isn't cos when I get an obsession like this, they don't get dinner.

Anyway, as I'm finding all this wonderful artwork, a whole new wave of inspiration is happening and new poems are flooding out. Now, three of the artists are taking poetry on board and are including some of my poems beside the paintings in their exhibitions!!! Wow!!! And there is a festival that says they will include a new category next year of poem/painting combinations. Exciting times.

OK, I'll shut up now ... I'm just bubbling with excitement....

[Kym]

and another lady has asked me to write poems to accompany her photos of brumbies on her calendar ... how cool is that? I'll be a calendar girl. Well, my name will be on there anyway.

[Maureen K Clifford]

Hi Kym

The hairs on my neck and arms stood on end as I read this and tears sprung to my eyes.

You have captured superbly the loyalty between horse and man. and the love - and the anguish of a parting that should never have been, but there was sadly no other option and how that must have torn the guts out of men already badly traumatized.

Nothing in this IMO needs to be torn apart - it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful poems I have read and one I will treasure in my keepers file. You did the artist proud with your words girl.

And I am sure that Taffy and all the other animals who are so dearly loved by man are indeed waiting for us to be reunited with them when the time comes...it is the only real attraction that Heaven holds for me.

Got to get another tissue


Maureen

[Kym]

Aw thanks Maureen! Shucks!

I'm thinking now though that I need to change the horse's name. The painting is based on a true story about Corporal Austin Edwards and his horse Taffy, but I made up the boy at the beginning and I don't know whether Taffy was shot or given to the Indians or died in battle or whatever. Soooo, given that my poem could be incredibly inaccurate as far as Corporal Edwards and Taffy story goes, it could be any other horse's story, so yes, I think I'll change his name so no-one can smack me. Hmmm, now what will I call him/her???

[Maureen K Clifford]

Hi Kym - personally I wouldn't change it - you have a degree of poetic licence and I doubt any would find fault with it ... I would perhaps put a disclaimer underneath your poem to say that you are not privvy to Taffys actual demise - but that history tells us all horses were sadly shot and did not come back - so chances are your poem is accurate any way. If you are going to use that photo as the illustration why change it - do the Mortein thing.

Cheers

Maureen

[Kym]

I was just talking to the lady who did the painting, and she can't unearth any accurate story about Taffy or Edwards, but she did tell me that some of the horses were shot (which we knew), some given to the Indian army (which we knew) but some got sent to Finland as food for the people (who knew that?!?!?!)

This is what she said:
"Of Class A and B the fittest went to the Indian army, and a lot went to Finland - to feed the starving population as the warring armies had destroyed or consumed everything edible in that part of the world. No wonder so many wanted their horses humanely put down rather than that! When I told a Finnish lady here, she confirmed that the Finns do eat horse-meat and that that is exactly what happened to our faithful Walers who went in that direction! I thought it quite sickening, but I then I guess they gave their lives in war, they gave their lives to give the gift of life to starving innocent men women and children left destitute by the war. Most people only know about the Walers that were shot and left behind."

[Zondrae]

G'day Kym,

Now, I know a good poem when I read one in spite of the subject matter (and this is a great poem.)

You know I don't really dislike any animal. This thing about "flamin horse poems" was a brief utterance, a few years back, when every competition for almost a year was won by a poem that had horses in it. It was 'horse poems' I was cursing, not the writers, nor the animals, but rather my inability to be able to write something as good. So I wrote a few horse poems myself. Well horse related anyway, and they did OK. So I proved to myself, some judges really like horse poems. If you can also have a kid and some danger, well you've got it made. My latest poem has horses in it, and kids.... mmm we shall see.