The Language of Horses

The Language of Horses

The language of horses consists of 34 words for feeding,
which depends upon the horse’s diet.
Some eating oats, sweet feed, or pellets,
and possibly getting helpful supplements and minerals
such as salt, joint supplements, yeast, and muscle builders,
while others are on a strict diet of grass,
though in the winter all should get hay.
The language of horses has 94 different words for their humans,
depending on whether they are describing their human
before or after a workout that zaps them of all energy.
During the workout they call humans what humans would call
their high school gym teacher during an intense class.
Cruel, heartless, heavy-when their human is riding-, and evil.
After a workout and right before feed time they excitedly
think of their humans as caregivers, motherly, helpful
but slow at bringing them their feed pan of supper.

The language of horses has 21 words that are used in reference to other horses,
many for each relationship, depending on the quality of that relationship.
Best friend, worst enemy, Goddess of the Herd, Witch of the water trough.
King that rules the hay bale, Selfish mare hog, and puny pony who gets in the way.
The language of horses has 43 words for demonstrating how they feel about
their friends and enemies, including the common words like kicking,
biting, nuzzling, and licking. In fly control there are three words that describe
the fly removal process: swatting, waiting, and praying.
Swatting at your friends flies with your tail, waiting on your friend
to rub her face against your belly to move the flies,
and praying for the magic water from the sky that makes the flies disappear.

The language of horses has 58 words for things that horses do not like,
including veterinarians, farriers, horse trailers, dewormers, and shots.
Veterinarians are killers with needles that bring intense pain,
farriers are annoying men who use funny tools in order to shorten the feet
horse trailers are dark caverns of mystery that scary things hide in and wait on the
travelling horses that trust their owners too much. Dewormers are a thick paste
considered green and slimy goo that must be spit out and not swallowed,
despite the human’s obvious intent to force the horse to swallow.
Shots are needles that are attached to the veterinarians that are killers,
and are often associated with far worse medical treatments.

The language of horses is a language of flight, for horses would rather
run than stay and fight with something that causes fear.
Running comes natural to the horse and is known by several different words,
galloping, cantering, trotting, pacing, and racking.
The language of horses comes in several different voices,
the friendly nicker, the angry squeal, the enthusiastic neigh,
each with its own distinct sound, the voice unique to each equine.

The language of horses is accentuated by physical cues and signals
given to other horses in warning. Ears laid back translates into “I’d
really like you to disappear” while barring the teeth describes a more violent desire.
The language of horses is the sound of hooves on the hard winter ground,
the warm breath of a horse on a chilly fall day.
It is the wet nose being rubbed on the back of a clean shirt,
it is the big brown eyes that show pure affection.

An Impulsive Poem 04/17/09

Its the fuel for your anger flame,
The wicked smile I've it to blame.
My brain tells me to run away,
My heart in pity intends to stay.

My love can't compete with your drunken nights,
My fearful heart shivers in memory of those fights.
Condemnation clouds every face with a frown,
And I can tell they wish we'd leave town.

Their whispers confirm my fears,
As you drown you sorrows in each beer.
My life is this dead end street,
A battle with a foe I never will defeat.

You smile at women as they pass,
And yet I rarely get a glance.
I find them in my bed at night,
And leave the house to avoid the fight.

Another bruise, broken jaw or blackened eye,
I promise myself I'll say goodbye.
No more pain or judgment in their sight,
One day I'll tell you your last goodnight.

Rainy Memories 03/31/09

Today I remembered,
What I forgot about you.
It's the last time,
You'll play this trick on me.

I may not be a singer,
But I tried to sing for you.
I may not be a model,
But I dressed up for you.

My thoughts echo the words,
The words you used to say goodbye.
Our song doesn't say your name,
Yet it softly fills my ears.

I cry in the rain,
So no one sees the tears.
When it rains it pours,
I look forward to the rain.

Rainy Day 03/25/09

Somehow I didn't lose my love for you,
It flowed down the side of the road,
Like water on a rainy day,
Taking all the leaves swiftly to the drain.

The leaves of sorrow wash away,
Right beside of the leaves of affection,
They float on by me spinning lazy circles,
In the water that was our love.

I turn my face up in the rain,
It hits my face in its slow drops,
I hope it washes away,
Every memory of you.

What could have been,
Is so far away now.
A distant ray of sunshine
In this torrential rain.

03/25/09

A needle in the heart,
It's not a knife,
But it is easily a start.

The pain starts to grow,
And covers all areas of life,
Steadily, yet still slow.

Another needle stabs the heart,
Making hope light the fire,
That kills yet another part.

The heart shrinks in size each day,
As people pass it by they wave,
And the pain they cause remains.

What first sounds innocent may turn around,
Driving home the last nail that seals the coffin,
A mere hour before they lower the heart into the ground.

03/20/09

Say goodnight to what you were,
Tomorrow is a new day,
With much to offer someone like you.

Don't hold back with the fears from yesterday,
They haunt you, but have no control, Necessary
Until you allow them that power.

Your mind should be made up,
Not to hold back,
The loves of the past are just that.

Yesterday I have forgotten,
Though the lessons I learned,
Are tomorrow's promise.

Spell 03/18/09

Like water over my brain,
You spread, covering every inch,
Taking over my every thought.

You possessed my mind,
Yet were oblivious,
To the danger that you had caused.

My entire life has stopped,
And now I only think of you,
For some reason nothing else matters.

Is it a spell that you put on me?
What do you have to gain,
The world is yours, or so it seems.

A record plays in the background,
It is not you singing,
Yet it is your voice I hear.

My brain is haunted,
Will you protect me from it,
Or should I hide in fear?

My fears are unfounded,
Why would you hurt me,
When I belong to you?

Attempting To Braid Daisies 03/15/09

If I could play an instrument,
Every song would be of you.
Your voice would be the tone behind my notes,
Your love behind each of the words I wrote.

This simple set of phrases should not reach your eyes,
But in the chance that it does,
Know that I hear your voice at every sound,
And that your face is in every cloud.

Mesmerized by your laugh,
You aren't my type,
I didn't expect to fall for you,
But these things happen.

I tried to sort you out,
But you're one of those mysteries.
You care more than most,
Easily making you a rare find.

They call it learning to love again,
But I believe we're born with that.
I just needed you to remind me,
How to love again.

Identity Crisis 03/13/09

Do you even remember who you are?
You have changed so much and yet so little.
You look like trash and treat your friends as such for what?
The pleasure of seeing their pain?
You're sick and you make me feel that way.

You care so little, yet "create" so much.
I can't help but wonder what you see in your reflection.
So dim. It probably hurts your eyes.
I hope I never see something like you in mine.
It'd kill. You're dead. Inside.

You're harsh, you're fake, you're mean.
You can't read this though.
Readers are feelers and feelers have to open their hearts.
Do you have one?
I have my doubts.

Legacy 02/25/09

Genuine fear of being forgotten,
That is the fear of the old.
They think back on the things they've done,
And see things that they want others to know.

My fears are at ease,
I've yet to grow gray.
The worries that weaken them,
Are yet to be fears to me.

What am I remembered for?
I let my thoughts stray,
The way I treated others,
Would that be my legacy?

A legacy of love,
For family, for friends.
Of comforting others,
Holding their hearts in my hands.

Oh Call It Crap 02/20/09

If I never hear your voice again,
I'll close my eyes and count to ten,
Cause babe one day we'll all hear voices,
So I open my eyes. Eleven.

Twelve releases my breath,
For thirteen makes me dizzy
Thinking of yesterday, the fourteenth,
On Valentine's Day, you left me.

Still fifteen songs left to delete,
You left so much on my life,
Its sixteen minutes until one a.m.
You're long asleep, yet I never am.

I tried so many times to say your name,
But aloud my tone is harsh.
I remember your tone,
And yet I count past ten again.

One Eleven AM 02/11/09

Lying facedown on my bed.
I scream your name, it hurts my head.

I see the moonlight in your eyes,
As your smile lights up night skies.

I fell and stumbled as I walked,
As my mind jumped thought to thought.

All these days I think of you,
And cannot help but wish you knew.

The Beach 02/10/09

You broke my heart in your hand,
And let the pieces fall into the sand.
And in the sand they blended in,
Then caught to blow away upon the wind.

I walk down the beach in your path,
Wondering why we did not last.
The birds cry and sing in the air,
Echoing my lost hope and despair.

My heart throbs in its pain,
As the thunder announces the rain.
I walk faster to quicken my pace,
As the raindrops hit my face.

As I try to make my retreat,
The gentle waves lap at my feet.
Causing the sorrow to melt away,
As the beach begged me to stay.

I kicked some wet sand into the air,
And ran my fingers through my hair.
The rain felt good in the warmth of the sun,
So I stayed on the beach until a new day had begun.