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Horse spirit (Oostvaardersplassen Preserve, the Netherlands): photo by Jim Brandenburg, from Masters of Nature Photography, Natural History Museum, 2010(via The Guardian 5 September 2013)
The heart knots-up, locked into the bittersweet
melancholy of a ghost town rodeo arena...
a splinter-crumble pine barn behind the chutes.
Unreal grey ponies, ancient coiled reatas:
1964's rodeo queen rips sour lottery tickets.
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Reata 13. Ryan, Texas: photo by Tom Steele, 17 September 2011
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Lariat: photo by Achilyse, 21 August 2010
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A safe place for rodeo tickets. Standing in line for the Shaniko BBQ. The little ghost town of Shaniko, Oregon: photo by uncommonmuse, 1 August 2008
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Dale Evans, Queen of the West, 1944: image by Joseph Black (Greenman 2008), 28 May 2010
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Out West: photo by Jinx McCombs, 23 June 2008