This morning, I offer a couple excerpts from The Voice Of Those Who Raced: What They Would Have To Say, a new book of poetry on racehorses – or more specifically, a series that follows the life of one racehorse, told from her point of view – by Sri Lanka-based Kaaviya Elangkumarabahu. This extraordinary work vividly captures the range of emotions – predominantly, fear – that these poor animals experience at the track. What makes it all the more impressive is the writer’s age: 12. Yes, 12 – fantastic!
Here is the Amazon link; please consider supporting this great, young talent with a modest purchase (Kindle, $2.99; paperback, $9.99). Thank you for your wonderful advocacy, Kaaviya! (Here, also, is Kaaviya’s Instagram.)
“Henry’s Story”
Days passed and passed,
No freedom came to me,
I lived in captivity,
And I couldn’t change anything.
But something as terrifying,
As life itself,
Gave way in the stable,
Putting horses in hell.
A legend named Henry,
A speedy bullet he was,
Had an accident,
So terrifying it was.
Poor Henry’s legs,
Folded like paper on track,
Crashing down he came,
His jockey tossed.
But poor Henry found,
No one to calm him,
Instead he was shot,
At mercy called useless.
“Dusty’s Loss”
Soon Dusty,
One of my neighbours,
Had her mightiest loss,
And even though she wailed,
No one seemed to care.
Poor Dusty,
Had her filly,
But as soon as it had,
A day with her mother,
The newborn was taken,
To a so called nurse-mare.
“What’s a nurse mare?”
I asked Dusty,
And soon got to know,
It was a mare to look after her foal.
But I still didn’t know,
Why a nurse mare was needed,
But the poor Dusty explained,
Because she was performing,
And cause they wanted more foals from Dusty.
And then I asked,
One of my greatest doubts,
“How could a mare,
Raise two foals at once?”
“It doesn’t work like that,
Darling Drywind,
The nurse mare’s foal,
Would have had its fate.”
Then I knew how,
The fate of Henry came,
To my staggered heart.
But what could I do,
To stop all this mess?
Well done Kaaviya Elangkumarabahu. Very creative and heartfelt. Thanks for making these.
Hi there!
Thank you so much Patrick for publishing my reviewing! It means so much and makes the day for a young indie author like me, whose only real aim when writing the book was to make this world a better place for horses. I’m so happy and grateful towards your reading and reviewing my book, your words really inspired me to keep doing more.
Thank you so much again,
Kaaviya Elangkumarabahu, author of The Voice Of Those Who Raced; What They Would Have To Say .