Shot from the back of his dusky mount, a lone
rider falls down on the dust. Thrown to a merciful rest; smoke and dirt turn
the man’s eye blind, a sudden stop in a boisterous flight. He’s deserting a man’s quest; a mission with
no letter nor say, assigned by a silent employer. Scattered fragments of the silver
saddle of his ebon stallion gleam on the foggy sand. From the depths of the mountains
and valleys voices speak in a mute language; words that come in chants unknown,
echoing to take him along and leave him back alone. Not versed he still understands
the hums of these mysterious rites. They tell the story of a man and his horse,
and a journey that was left undone.
I dedicate this to him, my friend, huntsman
and knight of a distant planet, cowboy of the intergalactic cosmos, the lone
rider of this galaxy!
