Poem: the branded runner running

***

THE BRANDED RUNNER RUNNING

While I held existence against myself,

An ignoble brand not me but

Burned and turned within

That hallowed call not heard

Yet followed towards the field

Open and not fenced nor

Found nor furrowed I

Ran and ran

And ran

Holding the sun between

Blinders and bit

No rider could mount nor break

The branded runner running

Out and on towards the sun

Not setting,

Not branding,

Not me.

***

These selected fragments are excerpted from unpublished writings by Jack Haas; selections from the notebooks 1990-2005.