Sometimes we do things we hate because of the exact same reasons. Top Answer. She had some horses. Harjo connects the "horses"—which are evidently metaphorical, rather than literal—to the earth: they are "maps drawn of blood," "skins of ocean water," "the blue air of sky." Through the repetition of the words “she had some horses” in every stanza, she manages to unify the poem, … She had horses who were fur and teeth. The Woman Hanging from the Thirteenth Floor Window, The Path to the Milky Way Leads Through Los Angeles, For Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, Whose Spirit Is Present Here and in the Dappled Stars (for we remember the story and must tell it again so we may all live). tags: cosmic , joy-harjo , planets , poetry , she-had-some-horses , space , traveler. Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this She Had Some Horses study guide. Horses and Men in Rain by Carl Sandburg. 2 likes. I just leave the horses to themselves.” odd and eccentric planets that no one else knew. She had horses who were skins of ocean water. Harjo’s second book, She Had Some Horses, sold over 11,000 copies and is now in its eighth printing by the same publisher. The refrain, "She had some horses," and the repeated "she had horses who" give the poem the feel of a chant. She had some horses. She had horses who got down on their knees for any saviour. “I thought my dance alone through worlds of. • She Had Some Horses (1983), considered one of her classics -- it explores the oppression of women, but also their spiritual lives and triumphant awakenings. / She had some horses she hated. In this poem, "She Had Some Horses," we can identify clear associations with Native American history, culture, and community in the language and imagery Harjo uses, even as she is also dealing with issues pertaining to all women. Joy Harjo’s poetry also employs the horse as a metaphor for the creative process. “She Had Some Horses,” Harjo’s most frequently anthologized work, is the title poem from the 1983 collection of the same name. Enjoy: The Jockey and His Horse Retires. First published in 1983 and now considered a classic, She Had Some Horses is a powerful exploration of womanhood's most intimate moments. She had horses who were skins of ocean water. She had horses who thought their high price had saved them. Her lines are curt and heavy but they construct delicate stories. Log in here. She had some horses she hated. As she goes on in the poem she explains her characteristics while getting older. She had horses who tried to save her, who climbed in her bed at night and prayed as they raped her. Joy Harjo, born Joy Foster, is a Native American poet and writer, and she is also a member of the Creek nation. Joy Harjo''s poems speak of women''s despair, of their imprisonment and ruin at the hand… She had some horses she hated. The poetry here is of mythic and timeless character, native and lyrical in its expression, profound in its reflection of a worldview that is at once precise and comprehensive. There is an interplay between speaking and keeping quiet, secrecy. She Had Some Horses content, as well as access to more than 30,000 additional guides and more than 350,000 Homework Help questions answered by our experts. Fast and free shipping free returns cash on delivery available on eligible purchase. It is never made clear exactly who or what these horses are, or how they relate to the speaker, but part of this confusion and lack of clarity is surely deliberate. Their outlook is changed by the arrival of the horses, a relic of the past which lets them rediscover humanity's bond with nature. In the first stanza she describes the horses through nature and as things that cannot be broken. Harjo’s poems ache with grit, grief and nature. First published in 1983 and now considered a classic, She Had Some Horses is a powerful exploration of womanhood''s most intimate moments. These are all elements which suggest the silence imposed upon women and the difficulty of defining oneself as a woman, but also the same oppression placed upon Native American voices. Human existence is complex. About Poet and Musician Joy Harjo oy Harjo is a multi-talented artist of the Mvskoke/Creek Nation. She has published seven books of acclaimed poetry. The horses in this poem are certainly afraid. We witness this usage of the horse most clearly in Harjo’s poem Explosion from her 1983 collection She Had Some Horses. Please enable Cookies and reload the page. Master flew into a spectacular rage. --N. The poem, written in the form of an American Indian chant, explores a woman’s struggle to shape her identity as a modern Native American living in the alien environment of Euro-American culture. She had horses who got down on their knees for any savior. She had horses who were clay and would break. Like. She is an internationally known poet, performer, writer, and musician. I also learned this poem is written in the form of a Native American chant, which suggests to me that she was trying to find a way to relate her experiences through the eyes of her culture . Another way to prevent getting this page in the future is to use Privacy Pass. Overall, this compilation of poems is beautiful, even the tragic parts (sometimes especially the tragic parts). Horses are a recurring image in many of her poems, but when asked about their meaning, she laughs and replies, “I don’t really want to say, and I get asked that question often. The speaker is not sure how she relates to the world, or should relate to it; the horses represent the many and complex elements of womanhood, of being part of an oppressed class, and of trying to navigate the world in that way. What do you think the speaker means? 0 0 1. I thought She Had Some Horses would be perfect for kids this young, whose imaginations are still lush and wild. She had some horses she loved. Joy Harjo’s “She Had Some Horses” consists of eight stanzas punctuated by a common refrain with a coda at the end of the work. There is much of the oral tradition here, much that is worthy of our closest attention and deepest respect. She had horses who were much too shy, and kept quiet in stalls of their own making. (1979), Joy Harjo's first full-length collection of poetry. ‘The Mourners’ expresses Ogilvie’s hope that when a great horse dies, a host of ghostly horses gather around its grave to mourn for it, much as humans mourn for each other. Ogilvie (1869-1963) was a Scottish-Australian poet and horseman, so given these twin achievements he had to feature on this list of the best poems about horses. If the horses are the protagonist's many issues, then some of these are founded in the history of the Native American people, whose lands were taken from them through slaughter and warfare. “I release you, fear, because you hold. Asked by Wiki User. The horses are horses only in name, which is something else she interrogates in the poem. She had horses who were maps drawn of blood. The print version of this textbook is ISBN: 9780393334210, 039333421X. Through clear personification, Harjo makes it evident that the horses are not horses—they "laughed," "licked razor blades," and "danced in their mothers' arms." This poem is written for horse lovers; those of us who have had a relationship with these majestic creatures. Based in London, the British branch of the company handles sales, marketing and publicity in the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, India and the Middle East. Let us sit by a hissing steam radiator a winter’s day, gray … It tells the story of a world ravaged by nuclear war, where the few survivors live hopelessly in a desolate reality. Master had his men turn the oxen about until the rickety train was pointing dead east. These juxtapositions not only sharply define the psychological, spiritual, and cultural conflicts at war in the woman’s conscious and subconscious minds, but... (The entire section contains 2684 words.). We can imagine the thunderous approach of the horses and the way their hooves encounter the "splintered red cliff" in the repetitions of these words. She had horses who tried to save her, who climbed in her bed at night and prayed as they raped her. The poem concludes: “She had some horses she loved. She notes that some horses chose to define themselves as horses, while others called themselves "spirit" instead. eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. • We can imagine the thunderous approach of the … At the end of the poem, the speaker says that the hated horses and the loved ones were "the same horses." Completing the CAPTCHA proves you are a human and gives you temporary access to the web property. Our summaries and analyses are written by experts, and your questions are answered by real teachers. She had some horses. In the second stanza she gives these horses human like features, such as the breasts and thighs. She had horses who were the blue air of sky. would sustain me.”. The refrain, "She had some horses," and the repeated "she had horses who" give the poem the feel of a chant. If you are at an office or shared network, you can ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network looking for misconfigured or infected devices. Word Count: 514. Joy Harjo is a poet and musician, and a member of the Mvskoke Nation. She had horses who thought they were the sun and their bodies shone and burned like stars. Each issue is like a horse in the poem, and each horse is relative to one especial memory of her. Save up to 80% by choosing the eTextbook option for ISBN: 9780393345810, 0393345815. Sometimes, we do things we love because of our history and our characteristics. Master swore and wiped the rain from his eyes. He had the horses hitched ahead of the oxen, but they were even less obliging. You'll get access to all of the Harjo's poems are bountiful, bursting with galloping horses, fat stars, "a woman as gold as the river bottom", memories swimming deep in the blood. At the end of the poem, she states that all of the horses she had were the same. She had horses who thought their high price had saved them. If you are on a personal connection, like at home, you can run an anti-virus scan on your device to make sure it is not infected with malware. She Had Some Horses Poems Leave a reply A new edition of the beloved volume by Joy Harjo, one of our foremost Native American poets.First published in 1983 and now considered a classic, She Had Some Horses is a powerful exploration of womanhood’s most intimate moments. Muir's Poem "The Horses" "The Horses" is a poem by Edwin Muir. However, for every working horse there are just as many show horses, kept as pets for personal use by the wealthy. Cloudflare Ray ID: 650835d6c830cc9b She had horses who waltzed nightly on the moon. They feel like that moment of insomnia when twilight breaks. She had horses who were maps drawn of blood. My wife and I both rode horses for awhile and we still attend local horse shows at the county fairgrounds. Joy Harjo's poems speak of women's despair, of their imprisonment and ruin at the hands of men and society, but also of their awakenings, power, and love. Already a member? Performance & security by Cloudflare, Please complete the security check to access. For those who like a flutter, horses can be a joy and a curse. First published in 1983 and now considered a classic, She Had Some Horses is a powerful exploration of womanhood's most intimate moments.