TRACK//FOUR
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BACK TO VOLUME ONE // ISSUE FOUR

CONSCIENTIOUS DAUGHTER

NINA SUDHAKAR
I dreamt of a horse — my mother holding 
a horse — chestnut satin with a liquid mane
taking the shape of hidden air currents, 
& beyond, the western expanse unfurled,
though I’ve never been there — & neither 
has she — but perhaps the subconscious
travels. Steady hooves on a carpet of wild- 
flowers, an indulgent whinny, eyes darting
to focus on those toothy mountains peeking 
from the desert’s chapped lips. I wanted to climb
on — I wanted nothing more than to climb on —  
but she dropped the reins & the horse bolted into
the river (the waters’ source unknown) & its 
frothing, dissembling rapids. Treading with no purchase,
choking on the flailing, a last glimpse of velvet ears 
sprouting from the milky churn. & I was keening,
there’s no wildness here, my salted tears drying out 
the cactus prickling at my feet & begging to shed its
thorns. Until we were standing again on the red dust, 
fascinated by the silver quills adorning the bare earth
at regular intervals, which, when I squinted, turned into 
a pointed apparition, the afterimage of that feverish dream,
the freshly abandoned skeleton of an earthbound fence. 

Picture
NINA SUDHAKAR is a writer, poet and lawyer. Her work is forthcoming or has appeared in Arcturus and Bitterzoet; for more, please see www.ninasudhakar.com.
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  • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • CONTACT
    • CONTRIBUTORS
  • ISSUES
    • VOLUME ONE >
      • ISSUE ONE
      • ISSUE TWO
      • ISSUE THREE
      • ISSUE FOUR
    • VOLUME TWO >
      • ISSUE ONE
      • ISSUE TWO
      • ISSUE THREE
      • ISSUE FOUR
  • SUBMISSIONS
  • BLOG