A Morning Fantasy
"Are you ready, girl?" I ask the pretty, dark bay Arabian beneath me. A cheerful snort was my reply. "Let's go, then." I barely whispered, a huge smile on my face.
The wind whips by as I encourage her into a gallop. I am riding bareback, and though she wears a bridle, there is not a single speck of metal in her mouth. Ellie responds to the light pressure on her hackamore. I lean into her neck as we come to a straightaway on the wooded trail. The scent of pines is in the crisp, cold air, and the grey winter light is not cheerless. There is a calm to this day.
Eventually I ease her back into a trot, and I post with fluidity. She snorts eagerly, but does not try to break into a gallop again. We move along easily. I do not speak. It could shatter the harmony. A cheery cardinal sings from somewhere in the woods; a twig snaps and a flash of deer hooves appears in the woods; a squirrel dashes across the path, his furry tail out, his eyes bright, a pine cone jammed in his mouth. Ellie does not flinch...
I come out of my fantasy. It is gray and humid outside, and my bird is crunching at his food. I'm sniffling, and there's a balled-up Kleenex on the desk. No, I'm not crying...I still have something of a cold. I have three minutes before I must get ready for community college and I need to study Geography still. Not much, mostly stuff about how much we depend on oil. Fun-fun, eh? :(
The wind whips by as I encourage her into a gallop. I am riding bareback, and though she wears a bridle, there is not a single speck of metal in her mouth. Ellie responds to the light pressure on her hackamore. I lean into her neck as we come to a straightaway on the wooded trail. The scent of pines is in the crisp, cold air, and the grey winter light is not cheerless. There is a calm to this day.
Eventually I ease her back into a trot, and I post with fluidity. She snorts eagerly, but does not try to break into a gallop again. We move along easily. I do not speak. It could shatter the harmony. A cheery cardinal sings from somewhere in the woods; a twig snaps and a flash of deer hooves appears in the woods; a squirrel dashes across the path, his furry tail out, his eyes bright, a pine cone jammed in his mouth. Ellie does not flinch...
I come out of my fantasy. It is gray and humid outside, and my bird is crunching at his food. I'm sniffling, and there's a balled-up Kleenex on the desk. No, I'm not crying...I still have something of a cold. I have three minutes before I must get ready for community college and I need to study Geography still. Not much, mostly stuff about how much we depend on oil. Fun-fun, eh? :(