BY MIA SARA
DISPATCHES FROM THE CORNER OF HOLLYWOOD AND MOTHERHOOD
The Long Shot
I understand the horse
who spooks
when the blue tarp
catches the air,
and snaps,
like the flag at the starting
gate. We hang on
to what we learn in the saddle,
or get thrown. Win or lose,
the track turns
a full circle. It’s only yesterday
in Brooklyn,
before you left, the tattoo fresh
on the inside
of your equine lip.
Considering the odds
you ran a good race,
high strung and blinkered,
feet never touching
the ground. The ground
never rising to meet
your pace. How fast
can you go
on the wrong footing?
I never watch
the Oscars, still knuckling over
the high hurdles.
Silly filly. I thought the prize was real
but not the price.
I thought I was stone motherless,
and lame. But here we are
in the arena,
this new horse, Apollo, and me.
It’s the long shot
who can write their own ticket.
So, we’ll take it.
Mia Sara used to be an actress, but recovered her senses and now she writes. Her work has been published in Superstition Review, Helix, poemmemoirstory, The Summerset Review, PANK, the Write Room, among many others. Her chapbook, Mid-Life With Gorilla was published by Dusie Press, and she had a long running column “Wrought and Found” for PANK Magazine. She lives between New York City and Los Angeles with her husband, Brian Henson, and her children. Read more from Mia at her website.