My soulful eyes were once bright and alive

shining with spirit and a loving sweetness

I ran through green fields, mane flying

flanks glistening in the morning sun

I had the love of man and spicy Ginger

and the taste of sweet grass and clover

Now my burdens are heavy

The cobblestone streets are hard below my feet

Winter's chill inhabits my soul

The noise of man's citys

are a torture in my ears

But I endure and fulfill my duty

for I love the kind man that owns me

But my Ginger is cold and still

on a glue wagon

Dead of a broken heart

I don't know how I carry on

for the cruelty of this cold life

is born on a whip against my back

My knees are weak from the weight

My breath short gasps of fog

that fall on the cold air

When I can endure no more

I am abandoned at auction

Head bowed low, my spirit broken

But wait...can it be?

The boy that I once loved full grown?

Here I am....here I am!

Do you see me?

My winnies are faint at first

but I gather all my strengh

He must hear me! Don't go!

And the boy who is a man

comes to me, tears in his eyes

He strokes my head

and places his loving face to mine

"It's allright now my beautiful Black,

Its allright, I'll take care of you now"

And so I am back in a pasture of green

My days are peaceful and full of love

The sun shines warm on my withers

I drink cool waters from a country stream

I think over my life as I rest in comfort

And I can say that Man is both cruel and kind

The kind respect that I am a part of all that lives

Not property to use at will and discard as waste

I dream of Ginger and my youth and am content

to walk these fields beneath the sheltering oaks

(c) Linda Gayton 2005