"The Black Stallion" by Joe Howard

He was wild and free.
Small, muscular, hoofed.
Ranged far and wide.
Knew no boundaries.
Except those of hunger,
fatigue, disease.

Wild he was.
Strong he was.
Free he was.
Fearless he was.

Till they trapped him.
Threw him off his feet.
Tied his legs.
Dropped a tarp over him.
Beat the fight out of him.

Then they pulled the tarp off.
Burned him with their brand.
Took the bindings from his legs.
Jerked him back upright.
Saddled him, rode him,
fed him, drove him.
Until the memory
of what he'd been
was lost in the pain.

Time passed.
And he grew old.
Grey. Spindly.
No longer usable.
Worthless to them.

Feed cost.
So they took him back.
To where they'd found him.
Cast him out.
On old ground.
To face what was now strange.

Alone, he stood . . . For a while.
Alone, he did not move . . . For a while.
Then, deep within, memory stirred.
And his head lifted.

His eye caught sight of sky.
Of peak. Of wild others.
And he bent to feed,
not yet dead.
Rose to see, not yet down.
Moved to explore, not yet lame.

Life returned . . . Slowly . . . Slowly.
Healing began . . . Gently . . . Gently.
And the old black stallion
heard his heart beat . . . once more.

The old black stallion found his
soul . . . once more.
Knew he was alive . . . once more.
Knew he was free . . . once more.
Knew he was home . . . once more.

30

It was a wonderful day. And it was a beautiful day.
I went to church this morning. It was great. :)
And then I ate a hamburger - my very favorite Sunday food.
My friend Aaron turned 21 today so a group of us celebrated his birthday with lunch. I didn't eat at the restaurant because I'm not a big fan of the type of food he chose, so that's why I had a hamburger. But I did hang out with them half the afternoon. It was great. We're really good friends. Aaron. Joey. Me. Boomer. Some others too. But especially me and Aaron and Me and Joey. They're some of my best friends.
The point is that today was a beautiful day, and as I was driving home, I saw this bright blue building over beside the highway.
So, what did I do? You see it coming. I know you do.
I took the first exit even though it was five seconds away and three lanes over, lol, and I turned back around to go take pictures at that building!
So I spent probably like an hour or two there? Taking random pictures. I got quite a few that I like. I decided these were my favorite so I smushed em together so I could post both. :)
I hope you enjoy!

29 - New Hair

I got a Keratin Treatment. Expensive, but already very well worth it. My hair was getting too long and dry to manage, and this softened and smoothed it so now I can brush it and care for it more easily. :)

28

I took dozens of photos of the squirrels I saw on this day.
This one was my favorite! He looks like he's in trouble.
Like, he has this look on his face (with his paws on his chest) like he's saying, "Who...? ME?? You must be confused." in that little innocently sarcastic voice, lol.
You know what I'm talking about? I love it.

27

A rainbow holds your dreams when
you feel like rain's washed them away.

A rainbow lights the sky and helps
you look for that brand new day.

A rainbow helps you keep your hope
when you just can't see the way.

I saw this sundog in the form of a rainbow yesterday morning.
Absolutely made my day, and inspired me to write these words. :)

26 - Hold On

Hold on to what is good
Even if it is a handful of earth
Hold on to what you believe in
Even if it is a tree which stands by itself
Hold on to what you must do
Even if it is a long way from here
Hold on to life
Even if it is easier to let go
Hold on to my hand
Even when I have gone away
-Pueblo Indian Prayer

If this one little leaf can hold on, you can too, I promise.
:)