a figure appears — barely visible, barely present.
it does not pull, does not speak, does not command.
yet the horse remains still, chains loose yet unbroken,
head bowed, not in pain but in habit.
this is not domination.
this is remembrance.
a memory so deeply rehearsed,
it no longer needs force to be obeyed.
the figure stands not to punish,
but to witness.
not to lead,
but to remind.
that silence — when worn long enough —
begins to feel like choice.