Horseback

 I was on her back

And her naked hooves

Made a comforting sound

As together we walked down a road I love still

We were on the pavement that

Man had placed there long before we came

And on either side and before us

Shimmered the beauty of a summers day

I felt delight and peace

We neared a bend in the road

Quiet forest on one side

Deep in shadows, ferns, and sun glades

On the other side

Fields robed in square bales

Fragrant with the smells of freshly drying, dying grass

And at the bend before the hill

The creek gurgled to herself

So content at her work

Merrily singing it seemed

And I saw creek otters at play!

We stopped to watch

Sleek, shiny, dark bodies quietly enjoying the water

Oblivious to the danger that a car may entail

They ran back and forth across the road sliding down the creek banks

I had not known they lived there

I never saw them again

I was a child then

Am middle aged now

And I never forgot them

Or how I felt

On that exquisite Summer day