YSJ Anthology 2015

collie. She sees the skewbald horse, and runs over to catch him by
his reins. The landlord's wife soothes the frightened horse. The old
collie laps noisily at his dish of water. The old man watches the
landlord's wife loosen the skewbald horse's too tight noseband, and
stroke his sweaty neck. The fat woman phones for an ambulance,
and reassures the young man, who is weeping in pain. Inside the
pub, the landlord gazes unseeingly at the Channel 4 racing, now
back at Kempton.
***
The river meanders in slow tight curves across this flat part of the
county. The current is sluggish, and swans leave striations on the
glossy surface, deep vee's echoing and repeating in a manner
suggestive of a much more speedy progress than they make. Circles
bubble concentrically as unseen fish breathe, deep in the murky
depths. On the far bank, bullocks graze, their splattered pats of dung
sustaining the life cycles of nature, each offering adorned with a hazy
halo of flies.
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