Dawn Horse

by Rebecca Hawkes

after Leonora Carrington’s ‘Self-Portrait (Inn of the Dawn Horse)’, oil on canvas, 1938.

A beautiful horse grazes by the river. One
you’ve never ridden. An older sister’s wedding dress

begging to be tried on. The mare accepts sweet clover
from your palm. She doesn’t threaten tombstone

teeth to nip your outstretched fingers. Stands placid
as you stroke then mount her, bareback. Reach

for a fistful of her mane. Click your tongue and send her
to a trot. Steady your purchase on her glossy nape. Enter

the canter. Almost slip with gathering speed but feel
her whipping mane draw you in closer. Its warmth a comfort

at your knuckles. A severe wind ekes tears, spilling fresh salt
that freezes on your cheeks. You move to wipe them clear

but find the horse’s hair transformed into dark tar that holds you fast.
Your gaze moves from its black grip on your wrist

towards your one free hand. Reaching now for your belt —
no, your dagger — as together you approach the water.

Rebecca Hawkes is a painter-poet from a farm near Methven, living and working in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. She is head shepherd of Sweet Mammalian. Her first book, Meat Lovers, was a collection of queer Cantabrian rural gothics. Her Medieval-ish illuminated chapbook HIDE is coming in 2026 from Ngā Pukapuka Pekapeka, and her next collection Fools Spring is scheduled for early next year with AUP and Yes Yes Books.