Franz Marc’s Blue Horses by Mary Oliver
I step into the painting of the four blue horses.
I am not even surprised that I can do this.
One of the horses walks toward me.
His blue nose noses me lightly. I put my arm
over his blue mane, not holding on, just commingling.
He allows me my pleasure.
Franz Marc died a young man, shrapnel in his brain.
I would rather die than try to explain to the blue horses
what war is.
They would either faint in horror, or simply
find it impossible to believe.
I do not know how to thank you, Franz Marc.
Maybe our world will grow kinder eventually.
Maybe the desire to make something beautiful is the piece of God that
is inside of each of us.
Now all four horses have come closer,
are bending their faces toward me
as if they have secrets to tell.
I don’t expect them to speak, and they don’t.
If being so beautiful isn’t enough, what
Could they possibly say?
Beloved poet Mary Oliver wrote this moving poem about a painting by expressionist painter Franz Marc called The Large Blue Horses. Franz was a deeply spiritual man, and believed that animals retained an innocence that allowed them to stay closely connected to their Creator. He was especially fond of horses, finding them both powerful and strong while at the same time tender and sensitive creatures. Tragically, after being drafted into the German Army during World War I, Marc was killed at the age of 36 when he and the horse he was riding were hit by a grenade during the Battle of Verdun.
Horses are intensely social creatures, and depend on each other to survive and thrive. As prey animals, their safety relies on being able to primarily flee from predators, only relying on the fight or freeze responses when flight is no longer a viable option. Therefore, remaning sound and avoiding injury is of primary importance. Even stallions competing for mares or territory are judicial in engaging with other stallions for dominance, for to be severly injured threatens their ability to continue surviving. As the poet astutely notes, horses would find it "impossible to believe" the extent to which humans are willing and capable of harming each other.
I think they would share her hope that the world might "grow kinder eventually," both for our sakes and theirs.
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