Mule Ballet

Tension on the lead.

Step lightly, on the bounce.

Sixteen hundred pounds of mule,

Three hundred pounds of gear

Can all come crashing down.

Granite slabs,

Rock edges of middle Pasayten.

No trails on Buckskin Ridge.

Mule grips rock like Billy Goat.

Lost bloodlines of mountain Appaloosa,

Hoof beats behind you,

Spread legged; weight off balance,

Mule ballet on mountaintops.

Lead line gone loose; get outa the way.

Horseshoes spark and smoke;

Mule leans back and sits;

The gear is steady.

He stands, picks his way

Around the root wad

And reaches to the side

For a taste of blue bunch grass.

No problem here.