Abelbee from Legacy: The Saga Begins‘A Wild Horse’: An Excerpt from Legacy: The Saga Begins, by Michael Pietrack The Society February 8, 2023 Beauty, Children's, Poetry 14 Comments . A Wild Horse Legacy: The Saga Begins is a 14-chapter narrative poem written by Michael Pietrack. In this excerpt, the young and fearful protagonist Abelbee receives guidance from his father, Baldwinbee. “Imagine both a man and wild horse, a clash of strategy and will and force. The animal refuses to be ridden, like being tamed and hacked was most forbidden. “The horse then flares its nostrils, whines its neighs, and tries intimidating kick displays. But undeterred he ropes the fierce equine and when he mounts the stud, their strengths entwine. “The punching force that was at first opposing, that mountain made of muscle first imposing, was now controlled by reins held in his hands, so that the wrangled stallion heeds commands. “Your fear can prove to be an enemy, but if corralled, a spurring energy. To master fear with bridle, bit, and bar, is how the gallant gallop fast and far.” . . Michael Pietrack is a writer, businessman, and former baseball player who resides in Colorado. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. CODEC Stories:Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) 14 Responses Michael Pietrack February 8, 2023 Thank you for posting this. Also, thanks to all who came to the virtual launch party a couple weeks ago. Reply Paul Buchheit February 8, 2023 You draw a really good picture here, Michael. I love “flares its nostrils, whines its neighs.” Reply Michael Pietrack February 8, 2023 Thank you Paul, I appreciate you commenting. Reply Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Paul, I really enjoyed your poem “Child’s Garden” – I rad that with a nostalgic smile. It reminded me to let my children play. Reply AB Brown February 8, 2023 There are some nice details here. The fable of the wild horse being tamed is reminiscent of one by Aesop, but less cautionary and more inspiring. Brief excerpts, though, don’t do justice to the scope of this thing, where the little moral lessons and allegories are punctuated by action-adventure scenes. I admit I am a bit biased regarding my appreciation of this work, having just returned from attending the fabulous in-person launch party in Colorado. The large venue Michael rented was beyond capacity and a lot of people had to stand in the back. And it was nice to see the faces of Evan Mantyk, James Sale, and Susan Jarvis Bryant via video recordings as they spoke about the book’s impact! “Legacy” has been selling quite well on Amazon and has already stacked up a lot of reviews in the little more than a month since it became available. It is probably the most commercially successful long formal narrative poem written in the last hundred years. This makes it a significant achievement not only for what it is, but for what it symbolizes regarding the revival of classical poetry. The audiobook version really showcases Michael’s acting/narrating talent, in which he convincingly does a wide range of accents for the different characters: https://www.audible.com/pd/Legacy-Audiobook/B0BSZYNBQP?qid=1675899466&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=772YQ1V1H5554BVE6Z8W&pageLoadId=uNaBMykUxWGGULAL&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c Reply Michael Pietrack February 8, 2023 Andrew, I cannot thank you enough for this comment. It is validating to see Legacy take off the way it has, and to have you and the mentioned poets behind the work is rewarding it itself. When you write a long narrative poem, it’s difficult to submit an extract that stands alone. This poem is one of my personal favorites because in my life I’ve been both paralyzed by fear and propelled by it. In the few times that I’ve been able to coral fear and ride it, I’ve found that fear is quite a spurring energy. But the brave master fear and it becomes a thing controlled like reigns. Anyway, I hope the group enjoys this poem and looks into getting behind Legacy. Thanks again, ABB. Reply Susan Jarvis Bryant February 9, 2023 Michael, I love the extract and wish you every success with this highly entertaining, beautifully written poetic tale for all the family… a tale that shines a golden ray of hope in a troubled world. I wish you every success with your book. Reply Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Thank Susan. I’m grateful to have you in Legacy’s corner. The video of you at the launch party was a hit. Many many thanks! Reply James Sale February 9, 2023 Ha ha ha!!! Yes, it was good to be there at the book launch if only in video format. It’s great this is getting so much attention and success. The last two lines are especially powerful: “…To master fear with bridle, bit, and bar, is how the gallant gallop fast and far.” The alliteration as well as the rhyme is really well judged aside from the fact that all heroes have to apply these principles in order to master fear – given all the ‘fear’ that is being propagated on social media (think Covid, think students being warned of violent content in Harry Potter!) then mastering fear is what we need to learn about. Reply Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Thank you, James, for all your support and direction. I’m glad you highlighted those lines, because I cherish them. For me, “gallant gallop” was a writer’s pay-off. I’ve been enjoying reading HellWard and am excited about StairWell. Reply The Mindflayer February 9, 2023 It’s very difficult to sustain rhyming couplets and keep it interesting, but Michael Pietrack achieves it. As others have commented his alliteration is simply superb, causing us to gallop along with the wild horse. The mimetic power of real poetry! I sincere hope Michael Pietrack’s epic fable is read around the world, as it is so inspiring, and will hopefully catalyst the birth of a new generation of poets. Reply Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 High praise and I hope Legacy achieves the very thing you highlighted. Thank you so much! Reply Roy Eugene Peterson February 9, 2023 Your poem is such an apt comparison of the will of a horse to that of man. I particularly loved the concluding words, “gallant gallop fast and far.” Reply Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Roy, thank you so much for reading the poem and feeling moved to comment. It means a lot coming from you. Fear is likened to a wild horse that seems intimidating, but if we can just corral it and direct it, it becomes a force that we can use. Thanks again! 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Michael Pietrack February 8, 2023 Thank you for posting this. Also, thanks to all who came to the virtual launch party a couple weeks ago. Reply
Paul Buchheit February 8, 2023 You draw a really good picture here, Michael. I love “flares its nostrils, whines its neighs.” Reply
Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Paul, I really enjoyed your poem “Child’s Garden” – I rad that with a nostalgic smile. It reminded me to let my children play. Reply
AB Brown February 8, 2023 There are some nice details here. The fable of the wild horse being tamed is reminiscent of one by Aesop, but less cautionary and more inspiring. Brief excerpts, though, don’t do justice to the scope of this thing, where the little moral lessons and allegories are punctuated by action-adventure scenes. I admit I am a bit biased regarding my appreciation of this work, having just returned from attending the fabulous in-person launch party in Colorado. The large venue Michael rented was beyond capacity and a lot of people had to stand in the back. And it was nice to see the faces of Evan Mantyk, James Sale, and Susan Jarvis Bryant via video recordings as they spoke about the book’s impact! “Legacy” has been selling quite well on Amazon and has already stacked up a lot of reviews in the little more than a month since it became available. It is probably the most commercially successful long formal narrative poem written in the last hundred years. This makes it a significant achievement not only for what it is, but for what it symbolizes regarding the revival of classical poetry. The audiobook version really showcases Michael’s acting/narrating talent, in which he convincingly does a wide range of accents for the different characters: https://www.audible.com/pd/Legacy-Audiobook/B0BSZYNBQP?qid=1675899466&sr=1-1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=83218cca-c308-412f-bfcf-90198b687a2f&pf_rd_r=772YQ1V1H5554BVE6Z8W&pageLoadId=uNaBMykUxWGGULAL&creativeId=0d6f6720-f41c-457e-a42b-8c8dceb62f2c Reply
Michael Pietrack February 8, 2023 Andrew, I cannot thank you enough for this comment. It is validating to see Legacy take off the way it has, and to have you and the mentioned poets behind the work is rewarding it itself. When you write a long narrative poem, it’s difficult to submit an extract that stands alone. This poem is one of my personal favorites because in my life I’ve been both paralyzed by fear and propelled by it. In the few times that I’ve been able to coral fear and ride it, I’ve found that fear is quite a spurring energy. But the brave master fear and it becomes a thing controlled like reigns. Anyway, I hope the group enjoys this poem and looks into getting behind Legacy. Thanks again, ABB. Reply
Susan Jarvis Bryant February 9, 2023 Michael, I love the extract and wish you every success with this highly entertaining, beautifully written poetic tale for all the family… a tale that shines a golden ray of hope in a troubled world. I wish you every success with your book. Reply
Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Thank Susan. I’m grateful to have you in Legacy’s corner. The video of you at the launch party was a hit. Many many thanks! Reply
James Sale February 9, 2023 Ha ha ha!!! Yes, it was good to be there at the book launch if only in video format. It’s great this is getting so much attention and success. The last two lines are especially powerful: “…To master fear with bridle, bit, and bar, is how the gallant gallop fast and far.” The alliteration as well as the rhyme is really well judged aside from the fact that all heroes have to apply these principles in order to master fear – given all the ‘fear’ that is being propagated on social media (think Covid, think students being warned of violent content in Harry Potter!) then mastering fear is what we need to learn about. Reply
Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Thank you, James, for all your support and direction. I’m glad you highlighted those lines, because I cherish them. For me, “gallant gallop” was a writer’s pay-off. I’ve been enjoying reading HellWard and am excited about StairWell. Reply
The Mindflayer February 9, 2023 It’s very difficult to sustain rhyming couplets and keep it interesting, but Michael Pietrack achieves it. As others have commented his alliteration is simply superb, causing us to gallop along with the wild horse. The mimetic power of real poetry! I sincere hope Michael Pietrack’s epic fable is read around the world, as it is so inspiring, and will hopefully catalyst the birth of a new generation of poets. Reply
Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 High praise and I hope Legacy achieves the very thing you highlighted. Thank you so much! Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson February 9, 2023 Your poem is such an apt comparison of the will of a horse to that of man. I particularly loved the concluding words, “gallant gallop fast and far.” Reply
Michael Pietrack February 9, 2023 Roy, thank you so much for reading the poem and feeling moved to comment. It means a lot coming from you. Fear is likened to a wild horse that seems intimidating, but if we can just corral it and direct it, it becomes a force that we can use. Thanks again! Reply
