“Eight Belles,” by Madison Mainwaring (Poetry ’19)

Poetry alum Madison Mainwaring was recently featured in Quarterly West. Read an excerpt of her poem “Eight Belles” below:

Eight Belles

They say that fillies give too much 
of themselves, don’t know when 
to stop, will run to would-be sweet freedom, to

ruin under the wide skies. 

Since 1875, only forty female horses
have raced in the Kentucky Derby. 

The first to win was called “Regret.” 
Her owner had wanted a boy.

Legs going everywhere, 
Eight Belles’s trainer said. 
She always stumbled when pulling up. 

We call it 
horsepower. We call it love, 

this bull heart gone wild on
legs as dainty as the toothpick furniture
in a dollhouse. 

Read the poem in its entirety here: https://www.quarterlywest.com/issue-101-mainwaring