her horse

you couldn't fall in love
with her horse,
her old sagging horse.
so that became a problem.
an unspoken issue.
you could never mention
the flies
that would sting.
the barn cat, fur matted
rubbing against your
bare leg. the smell.
the smell.
the smell of horses
and everything.
you could stand outside
the door and watch her
as she washed the horse
down. a brush, a hose,
feeding it carrots
by hand. talking sweetly
into his enormous
brown eyes. her hands
smoothed his thinning
coat, lovingly she nuzzled
her cheek against him.
you wanted to be
that horse.