When I Am Old – What Will I Be?

When I Am Old……

I shall wear diamonds

And a wide brimmed straw hat

With ribbons and flowers on it

And I shall spend my social security

On white wine and carrots

And sit in the alley of my barn

And listen to my horses breathe.

I will sneak out in the middle of a summer’s night

And ride the dappled mare

Across the moonstruck meadow,

If my old bones will allow.

And when people come to call, I will smile and nod,

As I walk them past the gardens to the barn

And show, instead, the flowers growing there

In stalls fresh-lined with straw.

I will learn to shovel and sweat and

Wear hay in my hair as if it were a jewel.

And I will be an embarrassment to all

Who look down on me

Who have not yet found the peace in being free

To love a horse as a friend.

A friend who waits at midnight hour

With muzzle and nicker and patient eyes

For the kind of woman I will be

 

When I am Old.

 I figured it all out that I’m a strange creature, very different then those who surround me. My neighbours, family and friends don’t really understand me.  It is inconcievable to them that I would spend thousands of dollars on horse feed for the winter and not have the money to buy a stitch of new clothes for myself. And, I’m getting stranger everyday….