Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Robert Wrigley’s "The Beliefs of a Horse" is a poignant meditation on the intersection of human cruelty, animal existence, and the enigmatic capacity for belief. Through the figure of a pinto horse and its imagined perspective, Wrigley crafts a layered reflection on the natural world’s indifference to human violence and the horse’s quiet, almost spiritual endurance in the face of inevitable fate.

The opening lines set the scene in a pastoral field, populated by "some sheep, fat and unsheared; two heifers; and a pinto horse." The description of the horse, with its spots resembling "a map of continental drift," immediately imbues it with symbolic significance, positioning it as a creature marked by the slow and inexorable forces of time and change. This image of geological transformation serves as a subtle foreshadowing of the upheaval to come, grounding the horse within a larger framework of natural processes that contrast sharply with the human actions soon to unfold.

The poem’s central event is the impending slaughter of the sheep and heifers, described with a stark and unsentimental realism: "a man will come with his pistol and his high-backed truck and take away the sheep and the heifers, leaving / around the gate the steaming piles of viscera." The imagery here is visceral and graphic, underscoring the brutal reality of life and death in the rural setting. The "ravens" and "bluebottle flies" that gather in the aftermath are both literal and symbolic, representing the cyclical nature of decay and renewal, as well as the indifferent spectatorship of the natural world.

Amid this scene of violence and inevitability, the horse becomes a figure of stoic patience and quiet belief. It does not react to the slaughter, instead standing "as still as he can, monumental, barely breathing." This stillness contrasts sharply with the chaos and finality of the other animals’ fate, highlighting the horse’s unique presence. Wrigley’s use of the word "monumental" elevates the horse from a mere animal to a symbol of resilience and endurance, rooted in a profound connection to the natural world.

The horse’s imagined beliefs transform the poem into a meditation on perception and existence. The horse sees itself as "lost on the earth?s great sea," a solitary island surrounded by the "breeze quietly laps" and the slow passage of the sun. This perspective reframes the fence—an emblem of human imposition—as a "near horizon," suggesting the horse’s capacity to reimagine its confinement as part of a larger, more fluid world. The final image of the "fence... someday break[ing] wide with sails" evokes both longing and hope, suggesting the horse’s quiet belief in a freedom it may never attain.

Wrigley’s free verse structure allows the poem to flow naturally, mirroring the horse’s steady, unhurried presence. The language is precise and evocative, with moments of stark brutality balanced by lyrical reflection. The juxtaposition of human cruelty and the horse’s serene endurance invites readers to consider broader questions about agency, belief, and the ways in which animals and humans alike make sense of their worlds.

At its core, "The Beliefs of a Horse" is a meditation on resilience in the face of inevitability. Through the figure of the pinto horse, Robert Wrigley explores the quiet dignity of an animal that, even amid violence and confinement, finds a way to imagine a horizon beyond its immediate reality. The poem ultimately celebrates the enduring capacity for belief, whether born of necessity, imagination, or the mysterious workings of the natural world.

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