[birds chirping]
David: We're going to close things up by getting outside with the poet Ada Limón. Limón was appointed the Poet Laureate of the United States in July and some years back she moved from New York City to live with her boyfriend, now her husband, in Lexington, Kentucky. Fewer rats and a lot more horses. Limón's book, Bright Dead Things was all about adjusting to a new home and the constant talk of thoroughbreds.
[laughter]
Ada: Hey there.
Speaker 1: This is Cactus.
Ada: Hi Cactus. Beautiful quarter horse.
Speaker 1: You know why I call him Cactus?
Ada: Why?
Speaker 1: Well, it's his name.
[laughter]
David: We met up with Ada Limón in 2018 near Lexington.
Ada: We're standing in front of the main entrance here to Keeneland and they've got this beautiful stone walls and it kind of looks like a castle. Keeneland I think is one of the prettiest racecourses in all of the United States. Now, this isn't where the derby happens. Churchill Downs is where the derby is raced but Keeneland is a beautiful old track that has this very historic stately feel in the middle of beautiful horse pastures all around it. It feels like spring might actually come. The sun's not quite up, it's a little cloudy. Being here when it's empty is lovely.
Right now we're walking through the main track area before we get to the actual racetrack. This is where you have the concessions, where you get your popcorn and your Kentucky's burgoo which is a legendary Kentucky food. I'm not a huge fan. Don't tell anyone. You get soft pretzels and popcorn and soft ice cream for the kids. Then as we keep walking up here you'll see all of the betting windows. I grew up going to the track occasionally with my step-father, who loves to play the ponies. We would go to the Sonoma County Fair and go to the track out there.
People are always asking me, "You know what? You have so many horses in your poems, what are they a metaphor for?" I think, "They're not really a metaphor. Out here they're just horses." The very first time I came to Keeneland it was here to meet Zenyatta who is a famous filly who I just adore. She's famous for having won the Breeder's Cup Classic, the only filly to have won the Breeder's Cup Classic. She was an icon of mine and so it was fun to get to meet her. That was actually the very first time I came to Keeneland. I think one of the things I love about watching them race is the thrill that they seem to get from it. They actually seem to be enjoying the race.
Right now I am looking at the main track, which is a dirt track. It has almost a reddish quality and it's loose dirt even though we got some rain. It looks like it's bouncy. They try to keep it so it's healthy for the horses to run on. Then the track right behind it is the turf. [horses galloping] Right now we've got a thoroughbred going by. A thoroughbred racehorse. There's something about them that is so beautiful as they race and as they just stand there in the pasture. Out here in Kentucky they're about as common as birds. This area right here is the apron and this is where if you just pay general admission you can come and sit and stand on the rail and root for your horse.
On a busy day, it will just be packed and loud and ruckus. It's a great sound. I like coming out here when there's no one here. It feels like there is some sort of ghost of energy within the space. As if you could almost hear the echoes of roars. People screaming with joy because they actually won big for the first time. This is a poem I wrote for the Kentucky Oaks Day which is when all the fillies race and it's one of my favorite races. How to triumph like a girl.
I like the lady horses best,
How they make it all look easy,
Like running forty miles per hour is as fun as taking a nap or grass,
I like their lady horse swagger after winning,
Ears up girls, ears up,
But mainly, let's be honest,
I like that they're ladies,
As if this big dangerous animal is also a part of me,
That somewhere inside the delicate skin of my body,
There pumps an eight-pound female horse heart,
Giant with power,
Heavy with blood,
Don't you want to believe it?
Don't you want to lift my shirt and see the huge beating genius machine that thinks,
No, it knows,
It's going to come in first?
David: The poet Ada Limón at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky. She was just appointed the Poet Laureate. You can find some of her poems at newyorker.com.
[music]
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