Racehorse

Poem of a Woman’s Transformation

by Ho-Soon Han

All my life I ran

With blinders

Facing only forward

I ran I ran I ran

To prove that I’m worthy

One day while running

A voice whispered

“Be free, be happy”

Time stopped running

So did I

Spectators screamed with boos and woes

Then one by one

Walked away

Shaking their heads

Putting their thumbs down

From well-liked to disliked

From favored to abandoned

Tempted to gallop again

Begging them to come back

Then the voice whispered

“Take off your blinders”

After a long silence, thick and heavy

With shaky hands

I took off my blinders

Exposed,

Frightened,

Vulnerable,

Yet for the first time

I saw my life with clarity,

Faced the truth of

Who I am

I am not a racehorse

And I

No longer want to be one