Friday, December 7, 2012

The Long, Long Day

I try my hand at poetry after many years away from it....



The Long, Long Day

I am so hot!  
 My feet feel like they're burning from the pavement, and all I wish for
is to run and jump into the river, which is not so very far away from me.

The sun is beating down on my head, and I am beginning to get a headache but no one seems to notice or care.  I keep trying to tell them in the only ways that I can that I am not feeling so great in this heat, but as usual, no one is paying very much attention to me.

I look at the position of the sun in the sky and realize that this day is only half over – I have so much longer to go!  Once again, it is time to start walking on the hot pavement, and I can only hope that the movement will cause a breeze to brush over my body and help to cool me off. 

What helps me to keep my sanity is that I try to daydream as I go along.  Soft, green fields of sweet clover and grass are beneath my feet, and the blessed shade of a tall oak tree calls to me from across the field.  In celebration of the moment I run across the field and claim my spot in the shade of the oak tree. 

The cool, sweet water of a brook is close by and I know that whenever I wish I can take a drink from the brook.  But of course, this is only a dream and it happens only in my mind. 
The thought of that makes me a little sad.

The noise and smells that surround me snap me back into attention!  The harsh blair of automobile horns hurts my ears, but I have no way to escape them.  The smells of the city fill my nostrils and wipe away any trace memories of the beautiful green grass I dreamt of only a moment ago. 

The big wooden thing that is attached to me by leather straps trundles along behind me, and I'm beginning to feel a little bit tired.  The two legged creatures that get in and out of the wooden thing are laughing and seem quite happy.  That cheers me up a little bit, the thought of making other creatures happy. 

After all, that is what I was born into this world to do, to serve.  It does feel good I must admit to have a job to do; but it does make me long once in a while for the beautiful fields and Meadows of my dreams!

Suddenly, I hear the command, "Whoa, boy!"  and feel the tug of the reins upon my tender gums, and I know that I must stop -- and so I do.  I know that I will get a brief chance to rest, something that I look forward to in such heat! 

For, all too soon, I will feel the balance of the wooden thing sway a little bit, 
as two new two -legged creatures climb onto it.
Then, I will hear the command to giddy-up and get going. 
~~
Such is the life of a carriage horse in the big city....

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Topic: Write about animals in the big city! 
Writer's Group Assignment for December 7, 2012 -