Half donkey and half human being half horse
Half human being three halves which end is which
And which the back for the saddle and which
The fingers for the work and where the song
Which unrelated to the body pass-
es through the body and that body is
Made more or less a human body the
Singer’s the listener’s the listener
Can’t help but feel nostalgic and a lit-
tle scandalized half donkey with its star-
tling hair attached somehow to something living
Touch it it isn’t smooth like real hair
And every child can sing and knows the songs
And you will recognize yourself in the singing
And they will sing for any audience
And saddle both the horse and rider sing
The horse sings with its back sings with its fin-
gers and the singing is not in its eyes
Which are an animal’s not in its hair
Which isn’t real not in its eyes which are
Not real but only in the body working
And makes the body human working you
Will recognize yourself in the singing you
Will not recognize yourself in the songs
Shane McCrae is the author of Mule (Cleveland State University Poetry Center, 2011) and two chapter books: One Neither One (Octopus Books, 2009) and In Canaan (Rescue Press, 2010). His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in The American Poetry Review, African American Review, AGNI, New Orleans Review, No Tell Motel, The Best American Poetry 2010, Fence, Denver Quarterly, Typo, Esque, and others. He has attended the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop and Harvard Law School. He is working toward a PhD in English at the University of Iowa. He lives in Iowa City. (updated 5/2011)