For Diane Crump, first woman jockey to ride in the Kentucky Derby
She rode
the fame of first
the steel in a woman’s heart
the will over can’t shouldn’t don’t
She rode
the creak of the saddle
the home of stirrup
the reins of daring
She rode
the boos of ignorance
the snickers behind the facade
the obstacles of constant arising
She rode
the storm in her face
the dust at her back
the mud that drenched her goggles
She rode
for the roses
for the moment
for the future
She rode
when cold pierced bone
when boycott sullied gender
when threat demanded protection
She rode
a pride of winning
a badge of onward
a smile that cracked the ceiling of the world
after Ashley Cecil’s Holding a Bowl of Dust
Long are the days
And still the air
Our skin is dust
Our skirts
Our hearts
At night from their mats
The children beg
The story of water
How wet was once the world
How water sweetened soil
How green and blue pleasured the eye
How mountains thundered to rivers
And seas cuddled fish
How our brows wept in heat
How corn plumped with drizzle
How giggling babies splashed
While tongues lingered smooth
And generous in the mouth
Then weather drove the rain
Deep into cave and trench
Where even our wailing
Prayers will not resurrect dew
And the sun, once friend
Has turned to scorch and crust
We watch parched motes
Pirouette among scrub and flats
Our bowls of corn and yams
Hold nothing now but earth’s ashes
We serve to the gluttonous winds
Allison Thorpe is the author of Reckless Pilgrims (Broadstone Books 2021), one other full-length book of poems, and four chapbooks. Forthcoming works include the mystery When the Bough Breaks (Wild Rose Press) and the poetry chapbook Barhopping With Scarlett O’Hara (dancing girl press). She is the recipient of several grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, a past board member of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, and a current mentor at The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. She lives in Lexington and loves lilacs.