Was day then night she combed for quarter
To rest her bones and quarter the till
A bonesetter once had broken her father
And now in halter he broke her still
No moon, no marrow, just fence row and sorrow
A martingale held her nose down in shame
Bonesetter slept all the while until cocks crow
Never once with the thought she cursed his name
Dressed in suede gators and fed beyond need
Doleful and dejected, he rose to a stand
Oh, Jessamine Jenny, he thought of his stead
On waves of thin bluegrass she grazed on his land
He moved through the tack to gather her saddle
A Crosby Soft-Side, he'd spit and he'd shine
With his crop, her bridle, pads, and shanked snaffle
He moved to the paddock with firm presence of mind
Shifting burden from her right to her left
Her tail struck haunch and her withers did shiver
She cursed Bonesetter with his quivering heft
Bonesetter only cursed what he could not give her
She slow trod to Barnhill and moved toward the gate
He looked on with pleasure, his obedient last ride
Like on Roitelet in a victory parade
He will take her high upon Red River's side
Well, the girth he did cinch with his gout-ridden fists
While kneeling her hard upon the underline
To rid her of voice, of breath, and of wish
Then to view her conformation, her resplendent design
Fitting stirrup, Bonesetter rose to take her
Sharp sting to her hind and yanked lip, moved her on
Her canter took them towards the high edge of Red River
Over bramble and through hemlock, over dreams dead and gone
Oh, did she owe her Bonesetter savior
A stumble at the gate, and it changed her fate
For bullet to brain should have been the first measure
But Bonesetter begged to fix her bones and wait
Well, what was she now but a broke beast in green pasture
Pending for Bonesetter's weight upon her spine
As she pitied herself, Bonesetter took them further
Toward the trestle of the old L&N line
Both lost in thought of what they could have been
Doctor of celebrated surgical skill
Faster than all others with a Triple Crown win
Neither knew each other's heart, not until
Jessamine Jenny, she quickened her gait
Bonesetter gripped her and lightened the reins
The trestle came upon them, and they did not miscalculate
The daily run of the 8:08
