Don’t Let That Horse | A poem by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, 1958

Marc Chagall, Equestrienne, 1931

Don’t let that horse
eat that violin
cried Chagall’s mother

But he
kept right on
painting

And became famous

And kept on painting
The Horse With Violin In Mouth

And when he finally finished it
he jumped up upon the horse
and rode away
waving the violin

And then with a low bow gave it
to the first naked nude he ran across

And there were no strings
attached

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Don’t Let That Horse…, 1958
from A Coney Island of the Mind

Also:
Peri/od/ical: City Lights Journal (1963 – 66 / 1978 ) | Lawrence Ferlinghetti