A Thank You to A Horse Named John,
A Warrior for Faith, Family & Flag
We all had a horse
An old horse
Of white and black and dark red wine
Folks thought Ol’ Warrior was mine.
But the fates had just parked him
in our stables for a time.
A long while, in fact
Even I began to think of him as mine.
So, we’d talk,
And walk, run and cavort, And opine
I’d proclaim profundities of sorts.
And he’d whinny and whine in retorts.
Warrior’s lair set upon a hill
Looking down upon our home
‘twas small in size
Yet, t’was his to roam.
Back-and-forth
Back-and-forth, ears alert, tail proud
Warrior would storm to any sound
Waiting my return
One springly day Warrior and I
Went galloping along a verdant byway
Amongst the hills of ol’ San Juan
So full of life was the awesome gelding
Head down, mane a’flying
Hooves pounding sandy ground
Hangin’ on for dear life trying
Untrammeled joy northerly bound
Out from a tree line softly padding
Sleek and svelte rapidly panting
Whiskers wiggling in the sun’s glow
Where did this huge feline intend to go
Ol’ Warrior took one last glance
And surely, instincts fast demanding
Flew into the air a’ prancing
Now flying Southerly, he too panting
My fate that day was to hang on tight
For surely Warrior knew
For me to fly off in horrific flight
Would turn me into stew
A friend
A dear friend
An Appaloosa has loyalty
And will not roam, here’s his home
A sane man would consider us
Even thinking Mr. Ed of the 50s
Not as speechful man and horse,
Rather, both totally nuts, of course.
The Day of the Neigh
A lovely man one summer day
Came to visit Warrior and me
And a troop’s company
Who gathered ‘round to hear,
to see a trumpeted call to liberty.
His name was John, tall and thin,
Light and pale with a hint of red
A voice deep base and strong
His lyrical song would draw you along
He was vending freedom
John could all alone
Take an order for written thought,
Then make it happen, deliver it home.
He’d shrug off dark clouds of pessimism
Somber claims of waning independence
And proclaim only in our minds is schism
For we surely can throw off dependence
That day he sang
Join me for a trip to freedom
Down to a sunny beach
Get some sand ‘tween your toes
And chase away your blues
Ol’ Warrior had a thought, or two,
And chimed in as ol’ John blew
With a Neighhhhh and a whiney sniffle
Interrupting John’s now shrill whistle.
John was the real Warrior, you see.
He fought and worked and wrote
His entire life
For Faith, Family and Liberty
Warrior passed soon after,
Cantered off to free hoof pasture
John’s quest for liberty ne’er ended
They’re sharing freedom and skies azure.